IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


^m  m 
f  ^i  IS 

i  tiS.  Illllio 


1.4 


6" 


1.8 


1.6 


V] 


^1 


<^-^ 


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v: 


\-' 


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Hiotogniphic 

Sciences 

Corporatioil 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pelliculie 


□    Cover  title  missing/ 
Leti 


titre  de  couverture  manque 

loured  maps/ 
Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  blackl/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


n 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causor  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  th'9  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'una  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  itait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  detail?; 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmaga 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


S 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restauries  et/ou  pelliculies 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  dicolordes,  tacheties  ou  piqudes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materit 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I      I  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~y]  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

I      I  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

r~~1  Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  4ti  filmies  A  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilieure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

»X 

7 

12X                              16X                              20X                              24X 

28X 

32X 

BH 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Prowincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAn^rosit*  de:  , 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copiu:  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetA  de  l'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  est  imprimie  sont  filmis  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplairas 
originaux  sont  film^s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  compote  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  -♦•  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
requirevi.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmis  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  film*  6  partir 
de  Tangle  sup*rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrant  la  m^thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

6/"0€^<6^/     y^^^^U^^y^< 


A     POFTJI.AR 


X  ..X.  A.  *'^ 


A, 


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1   \. 


4-^ 


H    vj.. 


f"^. 


X 


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¥ 


The  T^,;^ 


jy  olfanefica  to  uxeAumiSoi  on  of  the 
3tate  .into"  the  uMm, 


;,,  iM  histories  of  Slsl<iyou,  ButU,  Pium*f,  Su-fra  and   KsvavM  C':ijr.t,«,  Cai,^.■.'l•l    and  conltilwtor 
Histoty  <>'  the  State  o*  Nstvada,"  «iid  to  histoi^es  >{'  t^e  Wjr.f^J  •>?  Ssn  Jo«quiri, 
Sss.-jtJinfito,  Yuba  nr^d  SuUef,  Cililcroi*  ;  WaDu  W«!!a,  Ca!unsbv».  Gorfiisld 
.vvd  Whitman,  Washington  Ter'ilOfv    aiid  Um»t<l|«,  Jackwn, 

Josop'nina,  Cws.  CiJi'y  and  Douglas, Omgon-  . 


*' 


"'^Yk/;.-/    ^'•^^-^■<-'f^^jf 


A    POPULAR 


HISTORY-OF*OR 


H 


KKO.M 


The  Discovery  of  America  to  the  Admission  of  the 
•-.    ,        .  State  into  the  Union. 


. 


BY 
HARRY     L.    \YELL«, 


Compiler  of  histories  of   Siskiyou,  Butte,  Plumas,  Sierra  and    Nevada  Counties,  California,  and  contributor 

to  the  "History  of  the   State  of  Nevada,"  and   to  histories  of  the  counties  of  San  Joaquin, 

Sacramento,  Yuba  and  Sutter,  California;  Walla  Walla,  Columbia,  Garfield 

and  Whitn, an,  Washington  Territory;  and  Umatilla,  Jackson, 

Josephine,  Coos,  Curry  and  Douglas,  Oregon. 


PORTLAND,  OREGON: 

DAVID  STKEL,  SlICCK^SSOR  TO  IIIME.S  THE   PRINTER 
169-171  Second  Street. 


mn 


Ccpyiight,  1888, 
By  W.  T.  HUME. 


^.SVr^:^ 


m 


PREKATORY. 


Having  l)eeii  frf<iuently  impressed  with  the  (lisci'e(lit<-il)le  ig- 
norance of  the  history  of  this  state  displayed,  not  only  by  the  ris- 
ing generation  of  Oregon,  but  by  those  whose  task  it  is  to  instruct 
them  in  oni'  public  scliools  and  higher  institutions  of  learning,  as 
well  as  by  the  great  mass  of  our  citizens  whose  residence  in  the  state 
dates  back  but  a  decade  of  years,  the  writer  resolved  to  prepare  a 
volume  which  would  present  the  early  annals  of  Oregon  in  a  con- 
cise and  entertaining  form,  unencun.bered  with  amass  of  foot-notes 
and  Inferences,  at  the  same  time  preserving  tliat  accuracy  of  fact 
and  minuteness  of  detail  that  would  render  it  suitable  for  the  use  of 
the  student.  The  writer  has  ap[)roache(l  his  task  with  a  mind  en- 
tirely free  from  the  prejudices,  animosities  and  denominational  zeal 
which  have  rendered  Oregon's  historical  writers  totally  incapable  of 
preparing  a  just  and  impartial  chronicle.  The  frailty  of  human  na- 
ture renders  it  impossibU;  for  one  who  has  been  in  the  heat  of  bat- 
tle, or  who  has  a  deep  pei'sonal  interest  in  the  combatants  or  the 
issue  of  the  conflict,  to  give  an  al)solutely  impartial  and  trustworthy 
account  of  the  struggle.  Histories  ha\'e  been  written  from  partisan 
standpoints,  eitlier  political  or  religious,  rendering  theui  merely  ex 
parte  arguments.  Guided  chiefly  l)y  the  effect  desired  to  be  [)i'o- 
duced  upon  certain  questions  at  issue,  their  authors  have  taken  but 
little  pains  to  render  their  works  complete  oi-  correct  as  to  events 
not  directly  connected  with  their  theme,  while  their  mental  bias 
affects  the  whole;  hence,  in  no  respect,  are  they  reliable.  This 
volume  is  the  result  of  much  study  of  foi-nier  histories,  [H'inted  and 
written  documents,  official  records,  flies  of  pioneer  i)apers  in  Cali- 
fornia, Oregon,  Nevada  and  Washington,  and  the  oral  testimony  of 
hundreds  of  the  participants  in  the  events  nari'ated. 

H.  L.  W. 
PourriANP,  OijKtiox,  A[)ril  5,  ISSO. 


9J\l 


Pace  I'Mim- ;^  tor  7f/.sy>a«o?«,  road  i/i8i>amo/«. 
Pate  'V  line  20.  for  oomiueHitador,  read  conua,slador. 
Page  51'.  line  33,  for  thoufjM,  read  thou(/h. 

i»o«o  i«ii  line  ()■  for  iS26,  read  fSsy. 

Piiffc  "03  lino  8,  for  two,  read  three. 

Page  230  line  SO,  for  WUlamctte,  read  lF«tom«^. 

Page  2(14  line  20.  for  PiMicalljj,  Kiid  publicly. 

Page  34i»,  line  20,  after  the/j,  insert  not. 
Page  3o8,  line  14,  for  Bosh,  read  Itosc,. 
Page  307,  line  34,  for  Tager,  read  Far/e/-. 
Page  475,  line  17,  for  iSsj,  read  fS6j. 


GENERAL  INDEX, 


A 

Abandonment  of  Kort  Walla  Walla,  W.>. 

Ahholl,  Captain  (i.  H.,  HI),  141. 

Aliernethy,  George,  ttral  ProvlHlonal  Governor, 
if-',  2KI,  ffil)  to  :iVi,  277,  28.'i,  -JXIi,  ,«)ll,  m\,  M:.  :12I. 
.tlK,  3.tl-Wllllani,  477. 

Arlive,  V.  S   War  Steamer,  420,  W,K 

Achilles,  Captain  .1.  H  .  4r>8  to  liW. 

Adair,  .John,  It!.'),. 111. 

Adams— President  .John  tinlncy  and  the  Ore- 
gon Ciuestlon,  2(1.'!,  2!l.'i— Point  (Cape  Froii- 
doso),  SI,  122. 

.\dmtralty  Inlet,  12!. 

Admission  of  Oregon  to  the  Union,  f!.i2. 

Adventure,  nu\lt  hy  Ciipt.  Gray  In  17il2,  121,  12.'. 

.Vgrlcultural  Methods  In  Pioneer  Davs,  177, 'J2S, 
250. 

Agullar— Martin  dc.  Voyage  of,  18— Itlo  de  los, 
4it,  (17,  Hll,  82,  So,  1 18.    See  inlumbtii. 

.\litannni  River,  4(18. 

Alarcon,  Kernando  de,  Kxplores  the  Colorado, 

.\laska  or  AUaska— Discovery  and  Occupation 
hy  Russia,  .Vi  to  (i2,  77,  iW— IJapt.  Cook's  Visit, 
87  to  8!)-()ther  lOn^Ush  Voyages,  9li,  I2S- 
Spanish  Vi)yage,  102— Ru.sslan  Title,  l.i.t— 
!•  ur  Traders  and  .Natives,  I4S  to  l.iO— Islands, 
!!■!,  i).->. 

.\lava,  Gon.  Jose  Manuel  d',  Spanish  Com- 
mandant at  Noolka,  128,  1211. 

Alhany,  Propo.sed  for  Capital,  ;1I7. 

Alh<(tn).i.i,  American  Vessel,  ll.'i,  14li. 

.VIcorn,  Capt.  Miles  K.,  308.  101,  4(«,  !:«. 

Alden— Capt.  B.  It.,  .'I'SO,  3,i:i  to  .'fw— Camp,  .%i7. 

Aleutian  Islands,  (il)  to  02.  88,  102. 

Algear,  Pioneer  ol  1810,  2;)2. 

Allen,  James,  2Sii. 

Alpowa  River,  141,  210,  iW,  471,  I7.i. 

.\lta  California,  «4. 

Alvord,  Major  U.  S.  A.,  3:«,  .'IW,  .ifil. 

Ambrose,  Indian  Agent,  4.(4. 

American— Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  208  to  221,  201,  273,  30.')- Fur  Com- 
pany, 1!«)  to  201)— Ulver,  103,  .■i2«— .Settlers  and 
the  Hudson's  Hay  Company,  230  to  2:17,  241— 
Society  for  the  Settlement  of  Oregon,  223  to 
'22.").    See  Krploriilions, 

Anderson— J.  Patton.  !M:l-Levi,  3"i0,  :!.5.'),  478. 

Angell,  Martin,  Death  of,  llr2. 

Anian,  Fabulous  straits  of,  22  to  28,  :).'t  to  37,  40, 

44,  >W  to  r>7.    Hee  NorUiwenl  Pansaye. 
A pplegate— Charles,  27.'!— Creek,  Siege  of,  40-2— 

KUsha  L.,2«l,. '151  -Emigrant  Route, •2i)S,30-2— 

Jesse,  273,  282,  28(1,  287,  S»8, .'««,  .'1.50,  ;t.55— I.lnd- 

say,  273,  208. 
Applesecds  and  Trees  brought  out  in  1817,  ,'iOl. 
AranzazH,  Spanish  Vessel,  117. 
Archipelago.     See    Aleutian,  tirnur/hlon.   King 

Oeorge  TIT,  Lazarus,  San  Juan.  ' 
Arctic  Ocean  (North  Sea),  10,  33  to  35, 40,  70,  77,  80, 

88,  89, 131.    See  also  Xorth  Sen. 
Argonaut,  F.ngllsh  Vessel,  105  to  100. 
Armstrong-Maj).  A.  N.,  40«,  413,  427-Plensant, 

Death  of,  ,')5(i. 
Army.    See  ReffiUam. 
Arteaga,  Ignacio,  Voyage  of,  1)1. 
Arthur,  Daniel,  Robert  and  William,  275. 
Ashhurton  Treaty,  204,  '270,  203. 
ARliley,Gen.  W.  H„  Fort,  Lake,  101,  liH. 


Asslnlbolne  River,  (!fl. 

Astor,  Jolin  Jacob,  140,  lOi  to  107,  100. 

.\storia— Founded  and  Sold  to  PIngllsh  Traders, 
1.53,  1511,  100,  lai  Surrendered  to  the  United 
States,  100  to  KiS- Abandoned  by  Hudson's 
Hay  C'ompany,  175,  'Ji<— Postofiice  Estab- 
lished, 310— Custom  House  l-'.stahllshed,  XtSi. 

.\sunclan  Inlet,  81.     See  C\itiiml>iu. 

Atiial)asca  Iiake  and  River,  131. 

.Vtklnson,  Rev.  (!eo.  H.,  170. 

Atreilda,  Spanish  Vessel,  115 

Augur,  Capt.  C.  ('.,  408,  111,  113,  114. 

Avatscha  Ba.v,  57,  8:1. 

Avery,  , I,  C,  288.  j 

.\yala,  Juan  de.  Voyage  of,  70. 

n 

Babcock— A.  D.,  350,  .'1521  .;-Dr.  J.  I/., '2:i2.  213,  244 

2.51 ,  •2.>i  to  2>5,  '277,  281 ,  082. 
Batlln's  Hay,  .'13,  77. 

Halley-H.,.'{77— Capt.  Joseph,  .'t!HI,  432-Dr.  Wm. 

J.,  220,  ZW,  -243,  "244,  '277,  281,  285,  ;«M,  470—7,.  377, 

Baker— Andrew  J.,  275— Hay,  1'20— Col.  K.  1).  2(12. 

—John  O.,  275— Mount,  12;t. 
Balboa  Discovers  the  Paclllc,  10. 
Barclay— Captain,  07— Sound,  07. 
Harkwell,  .M.C.,  354, 

Barnes-Captain,  431,  44.5-l,ieut.  D.  P.,  31 1. 
Barnum,  Gen.  K.  M  ,  3.51 ,  .'1(«. 
Barrows,  Dr.  Wm.,  271. 
Bates  House  Massacre,  350. 

Battles— -Vpplegate  Creek,  December,  I8')5,  402— 
Applegate  and  William  Creeks,  185),  '154— 
Hnttle  Creek,  .\ngust  24,  18i53,  ;V)(i— Big  Bend, 
ia52,  3.30— Big  Butte  Creek,  I)eceml)er  24,  18.55, 
401— Big  Meadows,  May  27,  18,50,443  to  440— 
Bloody  Springs,  Octol)er  .'to,  18.5^),  .'«Hi— Burnt 
River,  July  12,  ia50.  401— Canoes  off  Rogue 
River,  .\prll,  18.5(),  44i— Cascades,  March  20, 
18.50,  448  to  4.54— Chetco  and  Pistol  River  In- 
dians, 440,  44'2,  445-Coiiullle  River,  1851,  ;W0- 
Coqullle    River,  18.5(),  411— Deer  Creek,  Dec. 
•2,  18.5.5,  401— EiRlit- Dollar  Mount.-vln,  March, 
1850,  435— Galice   tJreek,   Oct.    17,    185.5,    .3a5— 
Grande  Ronde,  July  l(t,  18.50.4.50  to  4(il-Grave 
Creek   Hills,  Oct.  30,  1A55,  .'SOU— Hungry  Hill, 
Oct. ;»,  1855,  ,300— Illinois  River,  March,  1850, 
441— John  Day  River,  1&5(),  317— Makanoote- 
nal  Rancheria,  Marcii,  ia5t(,  411— Meadows, 
April,  18-50.  437— MedicalTiake,  Sept.  1,  1*58, 
473-Mili  Creek,  Sept.  10.  1850,  405— .Murphy's 
Creek,  Jan.  '2, 18.50,  403-1'lne  Creek,  April  17, 
1858,  471— Port  Gamble,  Nov.  20, 1850,  408— Red 
River  Settlement,  1810,  171— Nesqually.  Apr. 
1850,  4.5(i— Rogue  River,  Nov.,  18.5.5,  400— Rogue 
River,  March  27, 18.50, 441— Rogue  River,  May 
28,  29, :«),  and  June  0, 18-50, 44-5— .Sand  Hollows, 
March  1,  1848,  3l4-.satas  Creek,  April  17, 185«, 
420— Slmcoe  Creek,  Oct.  0,  18.55,  .'i.S8— Steptoe's 
Defeat,  April  17,  l.'i5S,  17i— Table  Rock,  18,51, 
3'W-Table   Rock,   l.s.5;i,  355— Touchet   River, 
1848,  31()— Two  Bnttes.  Nov.  0  and  10,  1*55,  408 
-Walla  Walla,  Doc.  7,  18V),  414  to  I'iJ— White 
River,  Nov.  18.i5,  42*1— Williams  Creek.  Dec. 
28, 18.55,  40'2- Yakima  River,  Nov.  8,  1&55,  407 
Battle  Rock,  at  Port  Orford,  339,  440. 
Bay— See  Avatscha,  Baffin's,  Baker'.i,  BelUngham, 
Bodega,  Deception.  Drake's,  Hudion's.  Hum- 
boldt, Neah,  San  Francisco,  Shoahvater,  7Vi'n- 
tdaii. 


VI 


iriSTOHY  OF  (>I{E(iON. 


Ileaiiluvrnols,  Flrnl  Name  ol' Moiifaiia,  71). 

IVf/rir— Amorleaii  Vessel,  lUU— Money, :(:{(). 

licers,  AlaiiNoii,  -.'Itl,  i')l,  'SA,  iTjU,  •-■77,  &2. 

Ilflirliitf— Isle,  oil-Sea,  .")7— Htnilts,  r>7,  ss,  wi— 
Vitus,  Vi)ya«es  of,  .'17  to 'iH. 

Hell,  (leorne  \V'.,:;2S. 

Hollainy,  CJeorue  W„  2111. 

Belle— Lake,  IJ— steamer,  l.")I. 

lU'lllUKhaiii  Bay,  12'l,  Ijn. 

Hellln's  Wonderful  Chart,  711. 

Kelt,  Surgeon  .\.  M.,  i;tl. 

Bennett— Captain  Charles,  aci,  -(OS,  4i:i  '.o  liii- 
Fort,  4J0-iJaptaln  George  W.,  31 1. 

Benser,  Captain.  Brings  Cattle  to  Oregon,  ^Ull. 

Ilentincic  Arm,  North,  l.'U 

Benton, Senator  Thnmas  H.— Works  for  ( jregon 
In  Congress,  21."), '-'Ki,  322  to  .l'.'?- Letter  to  Ore- 
gon I'loneers,  :!lit, 

BenyowskI,  Count  .Maurice  de.  Voyage  of,  (il. 

Barkely.    .S'oe  Harvlau. 

Berry  Vines  and  Bushes  Brought  out  In  1SI7.  Wl. 

Bcvln,  Lieut  J.  K.,  314. 

Blddle,  ('apt.  J.,  IB-^)  to  167. 

Itlg  Bend  of  Rogue  River,  441,  413. 

Big  .Meodows,  Battle  of,  4IW.  442,  413. 

Bill  for  Creation  of  Oregon  Terrltr"'v  and  State, 
21.'),  2Ul.:i24  to  .127,  :rj2. 

Billl(|uc,  Pierre.  2(i. 

Blssell,  Lieut.  U.  H.  Army,  4."i2. 

Bltterroot  Mountains,  130, 142.  421. 

Black— Survivor  of  Umpqua  Massacre,  1!W— Cap- 
tain of  Riicroon,  lti3— Gowns,. «'■«  Cnl/zolic  Min- 
slona. 

Blackfoot  Indians,  :W2. 

Blain,  Wll.son,3-28,  3«. 

lllalne,  James  G..  Statement  of  the  Oregon 
(.question,  201  to  207. 

Blair,  Pioneer  of  IS3I),  232. 

Blakely,  Captain,  115. 

Blanchet,  A.  .M  A.  and  V.  N.,  Catholic  Misslon- 
arlco,  74,  217  to  220,  2tl,  213,  214,  30.5,  307. 

Blanco — Cape,  411,  82,  1  111— Rio,  see  Fnisi'r  Jilvcr. 

Blankenshlp,  MaJ.  George,  4aH  to  41)3. 

Bledsoe,  Captain,  4-33,  44.). 

Block  Flouses— .\t  Cascades,  400,  448,  4.'il,  *">2-On 
Pugot  Sound,  420— At  Vancouver,  4."))— .\t 
Walla  Walla,  4(«i. 

Hlmsoni,  English  War  Vessel,  167. 

Blue  Mountains,  l-'jll,  2S!i,  4.')ll  to  462. 

Boat.    See  i'cxsi'l. 

Bodega— Bay,  S3.  127— I'ort,  l'23— y  (|uadra  (cua- 
dra),  .Juan  Francisco  de  la,  Spanish  Ex- 
plorer and  Commissioner,  711,82,111,  1II7,  112, 
117,  12.3,  124,  128. 

lioggus,  Henry,  Road  Party  of  1816,  2iis. 

Boise-Fort,  2(1.),  2811,  2«,S,  32:{,  .361,  361— .ludge 
Reuben  P.,  .'Wl,  3.51,  liVi'ti-RI  ver,  .301. 

Bohin,  A.  .r.,  Indian  Agent,  killed  by  Yakima 
Indians,  38(>  to  3110,  474. 

Bonneville,  Capt.  B.  L.  K.,  Trapping  Expedi- 
tions of,  21(2  to  201. 

Boon.  .John  I).,  :!()0,  3.il. 

Hoot  County.    See  Mullnomali, 

"Bostons,"  irni,  1117,3711. 

Bradford— Daniel  and  Putnam,  US— Island,  410 
to  4.-)2. 

Bramley,  .T.  S.,  3.')1. 

Brattaln,  .1.  H.  and  Paul,  mt,  .l")!. 

Brazil  Colonized  by  Portugal,  2ii. 

Breck,  Lieut.  ,1   M.,  4.")1. 

Bridger,  .lames.  Fur  Trader,  201,  206. 

Bristow,  W.  W., ;«),  3*>. 

British  Columbia  Islands,  03,  0). 

Brlttain,  Daniel  P.,  ,370. 

Brooke,  Bumford  and  Noble,  3/0,  410,  1711. 

/Irolher  Jonathan,  wreck  of  the,  17.5. 

Broughton— Archipelago,  124— Lieut.  W.  R.,  118, 
lai. 

Brouillet,  J.  B.  A.,  Catholic  Missionary,  30,S,  310, 
311. 

Brown,  Lieut.  James,  311 -Jetf,  i7!)-J.,  2i.3,  478— 
Orus,  27.). 

Bruce,  MaJ.  James,  3116,  308,  .!!«»  to  40.3,  433  to  438, 
412,  445. 

Bryant,  Judge  William  C,  328. 

Bucarell,  Port,  82. 

Buccaneers  of  the  Spanlsli  Colonies,  27, 32,  .52  to 
.54 


Buclnman— Col.  1.  S.  A.,  Ill)  to   116— President 

James,  206,  3111,  .3.52. 
Buck,  \V.  \V.,  .m. 
Buckley,  Capt.  W.  S..  451. 
Bueiia  Ventura  River,  200. 
Buenos  .Vyros  Subdued  by  Spain,  III. 
Bultlnch  Harbor,    See  Ordu'H  Ilarboi: 
Buoy,  Captain,  .300,  4:B. 
Burch— BenJ.  F.,  2tlS,  31.3,  a50,  ;V52'.^,  177-Ciiailes, 

28;i— s.  %a. 
Burnett,  Judge  Peter  H..  2:17,  273,  2S2,  -Kll,  321 ,  32S. 
Burns,  Ilugh,  2.57,  277,  •J<2. 
Burnt  River,  461. 
Burrard  Inlet,  124. 
Burrows,  Lieut.  ,1.  M.,  417  to  42(i. 
Bush,  Asahel,  a!5,  ;i51,  301.  131. 
Bushey,  Captain,  102,  131. 
Bustamante.  Voyoge  of,  11.5. 
Bute  Inlet,  121. 
Butler,  Senotor,  Opposes  Oregon    BUI,  32.5  to  327. 


Caamano— Inlet,  114, 11-5— Lieut.  Jacinto,  voyage 
of,  117. 

Cabrlllo,  Juan  Rodriguez,  Voyage  of,  2.5,  20. 

Calhoun,  John  C  ,  and  the  Oregon  Uuestlon, 
201. 

Caledonia,  New,  141. 

California,  Lower— Discovered  and  Coloni/.ed, 
10.  24,  16,  51— Missions  Founded,  61. 

California,  Gulf  of,  21,  42,  51. 

( nlifornia,  Steamship,  Si". 

Calllornia,  Upper— Discovered,  2.5— Explored  by 
Drake,  30— Reported  Rich  in  Gold,  31,  51— 
Supposed  to  be  an  Island,  50— Explored  l)y 
Spanish  Navigators.  2.5,  46  to  48.  78  to  82— 
Colonization  of,  51,  61— Missions  founded,  61 
-Visited  by  tUipt.  Cook,  81  to  86;  by  Van- 
couver, 118— Visited  by  .Vnierlcan  Trappers, 
182  to  101,  201,  202;  by  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany Traimers,  110— Cattle  Procured  from, 
210  to  2!2— Emigrant  Trains  to,  248  to  251, 27.5, 
•2X1,  '288,  '208, 301,  SJO-Conquered  from  Mexico, 
•JOD-Oold  Discovered,  32tl—..\dmitted  to  the 
fnl..n.;«2. 

Camp— .\  Trapper  and  Pioneer  Settler,  '2:10.  See 
Allien,  Monlgomerji,  Stewart,  Walla  Watia 
and  Furt. 

Camijalgn- .Vgalnst  the  Cayuses,  312  to  318— 
Kearney  against  Rogue  Rivers,  .tW— Col. 
Casey  on  (/oqullle  River,  3;i0— On  Rogue 
River  in  '5:1,  .3.51)  to  ;i50— MaJ.  Haller  to  Boise, 
3(tl-M8|.  Hallor  to  Yakima,  388,  42,5— Grave 
Creek,  31)6— Rogue  River  In  fall  of  1*5.5,  300, 
4011- Raines  and  Nesmith  to  Yakima,  405  to 
100,  42.5— Col.  Kelley  to  Walla  Walla,  400  to 
I2'2— .slaughter  to  Yakima,  42-5— Maloney  and 
Hayes  to  Yakima,  425— Col.  Cornelius  to 
Snake  River  and  Yakima,  4'27,  428— Volun- 
teers to  Big  Meadows  of  Rogue  River,  43H 
to  l.'W- Rogue  River  In  Spring  of  18,56,  4:13  to 
146 -Col.  Wright  to  Yakima,  4.55— Col.  Hhaw 
to  Grande  Ronde  and  Walla  Walla,  +57  to 
467— Col.  Steptoe  to  Walla  Walla,  4ft3  to  467 
—Col.  Wright  to  Walla  Walla  in  Nov.,  18.56, 
467— Col.  Steptoe  to  Spokane,  470  to  473— Col. 
Wright  to  Spokane,  473  to  475. 

Campbell— A.  J  ,  'Wl,  .155- Hamilton,  2:12,  251,  :i3l, 
3.50-J.  G.,  282. 

Canadian  Boundaries,  0.5. 

Canal.   See  Hnro,  Rosario,  Hood. 

(Janyon  Mountains,  290,30:3, 

Cape.  See  Adams,  Blanco,  CUusell,  DUiappoinl- 
meni,  Falcon,  Flattery,  Fortunas,  Frondnso, 
Qooil  Hope,  Orrgory,  Hancock,  Hoin,  Icy, 
Loohmit,  Mendocino,  Martinez,  North,  Orford, 
Perilx,  Prince  of  Wales,  San  Lucas,  San 
H  ique,  San  Sebiistlfin,  Shoalwater,  Tillamook. 

Capital— of  Oregon,  251,  '2.57, '28:3.  328,  336,  342,  .345  to 
310-of  Washington,  :343. 

Capitana,  Spanish  Vessel,  48. 

Captain  John,  Nez  Perce  Chief,  459  to  46:1. 

Carmlchael,  Trapper  and  Pioneer  Settler,  2.30. 

Carpenter,  Dr.  W.  M.,  313. 

Carson,  David,  280. 

Carter,  W.  D  ,  :i'15. 

Carver,  Capt.  Jonathan,  .lourr .  j  o  ,  72  to  71. 


UKXKRAr,    IXDKX. 


VII 


:U8- 


;l:!l, 


» 'hsi'IkIbh— oC  tlin  Coliiiiihiii,  |!17,  III  I,  IH  to  111— 
IiidluiiH,  2'.1l,  'J.VS,  147   lu   IVI— .MdiiiiIuIiih,  l'.1l, 
l:!7. 
('uKf,  Wllltttiii  M.,l!!<S. 
CiiKey,  Col.  I'.  H    A.,  Itltl,  42f^  \M. 
<  'ution,  K.  <;.  mid  .lames,  ".n.i,  2«i),  is'2, 
Ciithay  of  Murt'o  I'olo,  l«,  2S,  M. 
( 'iithoil(^  .Missions  In  Oreiton,  L'l'i,  'JI7  to  '.".'I,  "iVi, 

Ml,  .-Id.'.,  .-tlW,  :il(l,  .'II  I,  .<W'.',  4711. 
( 'utile  111  I  ireKoii,  -iX,  -ZM,  -m. 
CiiiiseH  111  liiaiiiii  W'nrs,  .110,  :mi-)  io  .■t7.'),  TOl  to  :W(i, 

mt,  •mi 
Cuvallo,  .Iiiun,  Knr  Truiler,  iw,  101,  l(k'>. 
Cave— .laiiieK.  ;M')— Ulley,  27."). 
( 'uveiullsh,  'I'liiis.,  Kiiitllsli   Kreebooler,  .1'.'.  'W,  .">2. 
Cuyiise— IniliunH,  UO,  21.1,  L'l.'i,  •ilii,  .to.",  to  3\H,  :WI, 
400  10  IIH,  lii),  4'iH,  tmt,  470-.\las»acreof  Whit- 
man, .'«6  to:ilL'-War  with.  .112  to  ;II8,  4H0. 
Cedars,  Isle  of.  21. 

( 'ensuH— of  1S12,  470-or  im.'i,  2S«-of  IHIO,  HIM. 
Chadwlek,  Stephen  K.,  ■W),  :iVi. 
chamberlain,  Aaron  and  Adolph,  2S:i,  2Wi,  .lOO, 

.•IIM.  1711. 
Champ<ie({— niKlrlet,   CHI— Settlement,   22S,    212, 

i'v't,  2.'H,  2.'i-'i,  2S0,  :ur>. 
( 'hapman.  Col.  \V.  W.,  27.'),  an,  :iw,  4.s:l,  l.il,  m. 
Charges  agalnsl  (ien.  Wool  and  Col.    Wright,   I 

42?),  4(18. 
Charles  \',  of  Spain,  17,  21. 
('harlevo,  M.,2l:l. 
CImse.  H.  .M.,  .{70. 
Vhalhnm,  Kngllsh  Vessel,  IIH  'o  I2S. 
Chemeketii.    Nfe  Sitlem. 
Chenoweth,  Cascades  Chief,  Hanged,  t.')2. 
Chetco  Indians,  440,  )42.  Il'i. 
Child,  First  White,  Horn  In  (iregon,  l.Vi. 
t'lilll  Con(|iipred,  10. 
Cblmlkain.    See  Tnhimlkain. 
Chinese,  KIrst  on  I'aolflc  Coast,  liMi. 
Chinn,  Ma^l.  M.  A.,  40(1.  107,  411,  4l:(. 
Chinook-Indians.  122,  l:W,  Uli,  litl— Town  of  312. 
Chlpewyaii,  Fort,  IMl. 
Cibola,  Mythical  City  of,  2."). 
CIpango  of  .Marco  Polo,  IK,  2;!,  .11. 
Clackamas  Iilstrict,  2SI. 
Clark--(Jeii    I'.s.  A.,  l7.f-Uansoni,27."),  2Stl. 
Clarke— See  Lewis  and  Clarke-County  Created, 
.Wl-Fork    of    the    Columbia,   71.    l.frt-Kcv. 
Henry,  2:i2-,I<)hii.  Fur  Trader,  liil.  Hit. 
I  'lassctt.  Cape     See  h'ltiltern. 
Clatsop— nistrlct,  2S()— Fort,   l.!S- Indians,  I'W- 

Spit,  :M0. 
Clayou()Uot  Harbor,  llii,  121. 
Clearwater  River,  liiO,  211,  421. 
ciei)denln,.T.  s.,  3l.). 

Clerke,  Capt.  Charles,  Voyage  of,  HI  loSll. 
Coast— Indians,  1:18  to  4«,  4).'i— Keservatlon,  110. 
cockstock,  Molalla  Chief,  270. 
Cod  Fishing  Myth,  2t)t. 
Coeur  d'  Aleno— Indians,  421,  470— .Mission,  :S0l>, 

424,  474. 
Coe,  h.  W.,  H«  to  1.52. 
Coffin,  Capt.  S.,  4,54. 
(•olnelt,  Capt.,  Voyage  of,  IiB  to  IftS. 
(;olorado  Ulver,  21,  25,  ,50,  101,  104. 
Columbia— Bar,    1.52-t;ity.    ;m— County,     311— 
River,  .50,  07,  71  to7:l,  SO,  82, 8.5, 00, 100, 1 10  to  122, 
120,  127,  137,  14.5,  18.3,  128,  448  to  1-51— River  Fish- 
ing  and   Trading   Co.,    204— Territory.    Nee 
Wdxhinatoii. 
Columbia  lieiliviva,  Capt.  Gray's  Vessel,  101  to  1'22, 
Columbian,  First    Newspaper   in    Washington 

Territory.  313. 
( 'olvUle-Fort,  :«'2,  384,  .380,  124,  470  -Indians,  .-102, 

424,  4,5«-Mlne8,  im  to  aS((— Mission,  .300. 
Comcomley,  Chinook  Chief,  lfl3. 
Commissioners  of  Indian  War  Claims,  470. 
Conasset.  Mythical  Town  of,  42. 
Concepcioii,  Spanish  .Vessel.  114. 
Contllct  •'■■•ween  Catholic  and  rroteslaiit  Mi.^- 

slons,  217  to  221,  •2.17,  258,  281,  30.5  to  311. 
C'ongress— Makes approplat ion  for  fiverland  E.\- 
pedltlon  In  18()3,  134— Dlsous.se8  the  Oregon 
(iuestlon,  179,  180,  224,  '292  to  297— Kxpels 
Kritlsh  Subjects  from  the  Territories  East  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  In  181.5,  190— Neglects 
to  F/ncourage  ScttlemeDtH  of  Oregon,  24.5, '24(1, 
•2(11,  319- Passes  the  Oregon  BUI,  .■}24  to  •Mil— 


.\dmlls  (Iregon  to  the  I'lilon,  •'ir>2.  ,SVv  hIm, 
Oclei/iile,  Hi'iuilor  and  Hein-fmiildliie. 

Conser,  .liicob.  .'1:13. 

Constitution,  i^lgnatures  of  the  Framers,  ;i.52^j. 

Constitutional— Conventions,  '251  to  '257.  2H0,  .'442, 
:H4.  !l5(k-Klectlons,  '25(1,  '287,  :!M,  .'14(1,  :I49,  :l.5l. 

Controversy  between  (iovernor  Stevens  and 
(Ien.  Wool,  :t8»,  .'HIO.  121  to  4'2.5,  4llt  to  408. 

ConvenHon— at  Montlcello  for  (irguiilzatlon  of 
WaHhlngton  Territory,  313— At  Sprlngtleld, 
111.,  and  Cincinnati,  (ihio,  for  Settlement  of 
( Iregon,  2(>'2.    Sie  alio  Omnliluliondl. 

('ook--Aiiios,  210,  477— Capt.  .las..  Voyiiuo  of,  02. 
82,  81  to  91— .lames,  2't'2. 

Cooks  Inlet,  88,  08,  128. 

Coombs,  Nathan,  '240,  250. 

Coos  County,  .'H4. 

Coppermine  Ulver,  70. 

('i)(|iillle  River,  441. 

C    ■        lus,  Col.  Tliomas  R..  407,  l(J<,413  to  4:!'2,4I7. 

Con.  ..     r,  Mn.i.  N.  A.,  411,  113  to  i:f2. 

Corn  v  .  ',  New,  r27. 

Corona. ..J,   Franclsi-o  Vasijups  de,   K.xpcditloii 

of,    T). 

Coripreal— Oasper,     Hlscovcrs     Labrador,    •.:2— 
StraHs,  22. 
ortez-  ilersiant'odu,  Coni|Uprs  Me.xleo,  10-  l''..\- 
plores  the  Pn-IHc  Coast,  21  -Sea  of,  21. 

CorvallH,  Town  of,  :!.33,  :I4.5  to  :t40. 

Corvan,  'roreblo  domes  de,  N'oyage  of,  47. 

I'orwin.  Thomas,  .Speech  In  the  C  S.  Senate, 
1^5. 

Couch,  Capt.  .lohn  H.,  285,  :1'28,  470. 

Couiicil-at  Fort  Walla  Walla.  31'2—.\t  Hlg  Hend 
of  Rogue  River,  .'Ml— At  Table  Rock, 'W  to 
.'1.59- At  Fort  Boise,  3«l— At  Walla  Walla, 
The  Malles.  Colvllle  and  Flathead  Valley, 
:WI  to  :«3— At  Wa'.lii  Wallo,  4(H  407 -At  dak 
Flat,  112— of  the  Indies,  :il'!i!.  See  tilno  Treat//. 

Cow  Creek  Indians,  :mi,  401. 

Cowlitz— Ml.sslon,  '((Hi- Settlement,  '2:^4,  'i'r?. 

Co.\— .\nderson,  :«)4— .Icsse,  .•1.50,  :152U— .Joseph, 
:«l,  .'V)2'i;— Thomas  and  Wllllani,  ■sni. 

Coyle,  Reuben  s.,  .').50,  ;!.51. 

(Jozlne,  .Samuel,  '27.5. 

Craig— l).W.,;l.51— Col.  William,  .\merican  Trap- 
per, 232,  '277,  ::0S,  4.'iK,  40.5. 

Crawford-Mavld,  283,  :!1  l-Medorem,  2ls,  '277,  .30:t, 
:«I4. 

Crelghton.  I'apl.,  111. 

crescent  City,  I'al.,  440. 

Crooks— .John  T.,  .'t-TO.  :t->5,  170- Ramsey,  Fur 
Trader,  1.57  to  101,  '202. 

Cuadni.     Nie  Jioflrf/ri !/  Qwiilra. 

Culia  Coiuiucred.  10. 

Culver,  Samuel  H.,  Indian  .Vgent,  .3.58. 

Curry,  (iov.  George  I,., :««,  3'l  to  ;140,  ;i54,  .'{.57,  :t(!l, 
:iii:!,  .'1.8.8  to  ;!!HI,  :!ol,  405, 100,  III,  41'2, 423,  4:10  to  4:!2, 
477. 

Curtis,  Mout.,  4(iO. 

Custom  House  Established  at  Astoria, 'B!. 

Cutmouth  .lolin,  Cayuse  Indian,  31S. 

I> 

Daeddlim,  English  Vessel,  1'21,  120. 
Dalles.    .S>'»;  Tlie  Ditllen. 

Darlo,  B.,  .ill. 

Dart,  Dr.  Anson,  Superintendent  ol  Indian 
Altatrs,  :!:i8. 

Davidson,  Lieut..  U.  S.  A.,  448.  4Bti. 

Davis— Capt.  H.  W  ,  45l-.Iefrerson  C,  opposes 
the  Oregon  Bill,  :^24  to :f27- (apt,  John,  Voy- 
age of,  .52— Gov.  John  W.,:HI,  ;14.5— Straits,  ,52. 

Dawson,  V.  W., '27,5,  ■280. 

Day— John,  the  Hunter,  1-57  to  IflO— Lieut,  ;!88. 

Dayton,  Town  of,  :M1. 

Deadv,  Judge  Matthew  P.,  311,  ,3-50,  :1.51,  Xi2%,  :i.58, 
;il!t. 

Debt,  Indiivn  War,  475  to  477. 

'leceptlon— ,liay.  Ser  OiUnuhia  /iircr— Passage, 
I'if. 

Deer  Lodge  River.  l.'Ki. 

Defiance,  Fort,  110. 

DeLacy,  Capt.,  469  to  46:!. 

De  L'Isle,  a  French  Geographer,  08. 

Delegate  to  Congress— J.  Quinn  Thornton,  -321— 
Joseph  L.  Meek,  322— Samuel  R.  Tburstou, 
.%1,3,  :W-Jo8eph  Lane,  :t.'!7,  344,  ;14((,  a50. 


VIII 


HISTOUV  OF  OKKGOX. 


Ilemer*,  Father  Modeste,  i!17,  22U,  aw,  3fti. 

Dent,  Capf.,  U.S.  A.,  47;). 

De.sCluites— Indians,  .'iM,  ;W2,  rM.  160— River,  ;1U. 

1  )e8ertlon  of  IT.  H.  Troops, ;«(),  .■!31, 

DeStnet,  Katlier  Peter  J.,  2:12,  281,  .mi, 

DeSoto  Discovers  the  Mississippi,  2(1. 

Uesl'aii,  Pioneer  American  Settler,  2:{U. 

Destruction— Island,  80,  «8, 120— Klver,  '.W. 

Dlinnilck,  A.  K.,  aOl 

Disappointment.    See  Hancock. 

DlscovervofOold— In  California,  329— In  Oregon, 

:i;iO— Near  ColvlUe,  :«4. 
Discovery— Port,  12:!— English  Vessel, 84  to 90, 118 

to  128. 
Division  of  Oregon,  312  to  in'),  349. 
Dlxon-Channel,  117— Capt.,  Voyage  of,  9.5. 
Doll!/,  First  Vessel  built  on  the  Columbia,  lo". 
Dolores.    See  Destruction, 
Dominican  Missions,  IH. 
Donation  r,aw  Proposed,  240,  2fil. 
Donner  Parly,  the  Ill-fated,  298, 
Donplerri,  D.,  243. 
Dorion.  Pierre,  lo7, 1.59,  104. 
Doty,  N.  U.,  28.3,  314. 
Dougherty,  William  M.,  232,  251,  2S2. 
Dougla.s— County,    337— ,Iames,     Chief     Factor 

Hudson's  nay  Co.,  311— Stephen  A.,  322. 
Drake—Kay,  3i)l—Sir  Francis,  Voyage  of,  28  to 

.32,  73. 
Drewyor  Uivor.    Sfa  Puliiiiac. 
Drunimond,  .sir  William,  21.3. 
Dryer,  Thomas  .1.,  Founder  of  the   Oipiinniim, 

.335,  3")0.  355,  .303,  391,  12.'. 
DuHoy,  .lohn  B.,  480. 
Duncan,  L.  .1.  ('.,350,  .351. 
Dunglness,  N'ew,  123. 
Dunlap,  ,1.,  .333. 

Dunn,  ,Ino.,  .\uthor  of  Hook  on  Oregon,  235,21.5. 
Dupratz,  I.apagc,  French  F,.\plorer,  (W. 


Kast  India  Company,  91,  !Hi. 

Katon,  Charles  and  Nathan,  275. 

Kbhert,  George  W.,  2.32. 

I'Ibbotts,  S(iulro,  257.  'In. 

F'-ilgcunib,  Mount,  82,87,  115. 

Education,  177,209,2.50.    .Vec  MimtiitnK. 

Edwards,  P.  I,  ,  20S,  217,  237— Diary  of,  iiO. 

Eells,  Rev.  Cushlng,  21 1,  20.5,  277. 

F'.ighl-Dollar  Mountain.  Battle  of,  4.35. 

KlecUon-lNI3,  2.50-lSll,  281—181.5,  28.5-1810,  :tt)0— 
l.S47,:)03— 1818,  301  1819.333-18)0,  335—1851,  337 
— 18.5!,  314-18,51, 311-1855,31(1— April,. lune  and 
October,  18.56,  .348,  319— ,luno  and  November, 
1857,  319  lo  351—18.58,  351. 

Kli.sa,  Ijieut.  Francisco,  Voyage  of,  114  to  117. 

Kikins,  l.uther,  .350,  355. 

Kills,  Ne/.  Perce  Chief,  258. 

Kmlgraiit  Routes,  2IS,  274,  277,  283,  289,  298,  302. 

Emigration  to  Calll'ornla  and  i  ii-egon,  180,  222  to 
221.    iS'ce  Iinmii/nition. 

lOmmons,  I, lout.,  V.  S.  N.,  211. 

Engent,  Lieut.  .lohn,  313. 

Eiigllsh-Capt.  Levi  N.,  2SS.  314  to  317-Misrcpre- 
sentallon  of  Oregon,  23-5. 

Encenada.    Sfr  Amincidn,  CWwiano,  Ileceta, 

Enos,  an  Indian,  |.3S,  411,  41(1. 

Entradado  Perez,  117. 

Epidemic  among  tlie  ('ayuses,  ,30,8. 

Ermatingor,  Francis,  210,  '!<), 

Eniuette,  a  Trapper,  21ii. 

I'iugerie  City,  317  to  319. 

Eustua,  Lieut. , lohn,  4(il. 

Evans'- Creek,  llattle  of,  .350— Ferry,  371,  30;), 

Everett,  Edward,  Minister  to  England,  '291. 

Ewlng,  F.  Y.,217. 

Execution.    ISce  Jlniuiini/. 

Executive  Committee  of  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, 254  to  257,  '281. 

E.xpedltlon.  Sec  Alnrcnit,  Jionneiitle,  a)n>nado, 
Kinmonx,  Frnnvr,  Fremont,  French  Friilorcm, 
Hnniiii,  Heiirnc,  Hunt,  Lcicin  and  Clarke, 
Mackenzie,  AfcLeoit,  Mlcliaiu,  Ot/den,  Pike, 
iSmilli,  i'erendri/es,  fVilkct,  Wiieth,  Younu. 
."fee  aim  ./ottrae.u  and  \'i>!/riyc. 

Explorations- by  England,  21, '28  to  .'t.3,  37  to  41, 
.52  to  .Vi,  T2  to  77,  83  to  'M,  93  to  11'2,  118  to 
129,  131  to  lai,  141,  150,  162  to  168,  1011  lo  171,  11)9 


-France,  24,  fl«  to  72, 18,  115-Holland,  24,  ,^3- 
Portugal,  22, ;«  to  36,  98— Russia,  .56  to  62.  93— 
Spain,  18,  Si  to  27,  33  to  36,  37  to  41,  45  to  .51,  77 
to  *},  91,  101  to  112, 113  to  115,  117  to  118,  I'JIt  tfl 
125, 127  to  1211-rnlted  States,  100  to  108,  115  to 
117,  1'2()  to  122,  143  to  14,5,  145  to  168,  189  to  2IKi, 
214,  277. 


Falrweather,  Mount,  87,  93. 

Falcon.    See  Tillamook, 

Falls.    Sec  Miasiniri,  Willametle, 

Faralione  Islands,  43. 

P'arrar,  Capt.  William  H.,  31-5,  ;W0,  :»2,>^  413. 

Fanhion,  Steamer,  451,  153. 

Favonta,  .Spanish  Vessel,  91. 

Felice  Adventure,  English  Vessel,  98  to  101,  10.5. 

Fellows,  Lieut,  and  tiapt.  A.  M.,  419. 

Ferrelo,  Bartoloine,  Voyage  of,  2.5  to  '28. 

Fldalgo— Island,  11.5— Lieut.  Salvador,  Voyage 
of,  118. 

Fields-Calvin  M.,  Death  of,  .370— Pioneer  of  1817 
Krings  Sheep  to  Oregon  in  1817,  .301. 

Flfty-fourforty  or  tight,  2'i5,  262,  '289,  291,  291. 

Filipiano,  Spanish  Ves.sel.    See  San  Carlos, 

Finances  in  Pioneer  Days,  288,  821. 

Financial  History  of  the  Indian  Wars,  475  to 
477. 

Fitzgerald,  MaJ.  in  U.  S.  A.,  :m,  .'176,  309. 

Fitzhugli,  Solomon,  .'150,  354. 

Fitzpatrlck,  Thomas,  Fur  Trader,  202,  218. 
i  Five  Crows,  Cayuse  Chief,  '259,  308  to  31,5. 

F'lags  of  Schooner  Shark,  3(K). 
I  Flathead  Indians,  70, '208,  2H1,  .182,  179— Mission, 
1  232, 306. 

Flattery.  Cape,  79,  .S6,  121. 

Flavel,  Capt.  George,  310. 
I  Flemmlng,  .lohn,  288. 

Fletcher— Chaplain,  Romances  of,  30— Francis, 
'2.W,  219,  277.    ■ 

Flood  of  18-53,  311. 

Florida,  lioundarles  and  Purchase  of,  (fc5,  i«8. 

Flowers  brouglit  In  1817,  .101. 

Foiry,  .M.  0.,'28(l, 

Foiite,  .Vdmlnil,  Voyage  of,  42,  8'2. 

Foot,  .Senator,  Siiecch  against  Oregon    Rill,  .326. 

Ford,  Ephraim,.Iuhii,  Marcus, Nathaniel,  Nine- 
vuh  and  .Minrod,  275,  282,  281,  28.5,  286,  .'101,  3.31. 

Forest   -Lieut.,  V.  S.  N.,  469— .lohn  M.,  289. 

Fort.  .SV'c  Aihle,!/,  Anforia,  H.'nnett,  lioise,  Chipe- 
irt/an,  ('Idlsup,  Colvltlc,  Defiance.  Oeorge,  Gib- 
raltar, Hall,  llaiis,  Henrietta,  Henr.u,  .Tones, 
Lamerick,  Lane,  Leland,  Pill,  Sleilacoom, 
Ta.i/lor,  Cmiii/iia,  Vancouver,  Walla  \V<illa 
( ]Vallnla),  ]Va.ihini/ton,  ]\'llliams. 

Fortiinas,  ('al)o  de,  '26. 

Foster,  Philip,  277,  2'11,  2S.5. 

Fountain  of  Youth,  18. 

Fowler,  Capt.  W.  W.,  1.51  to  360. 

Fox,  Victim  of  Rogue  River  Massacre,  -376. 

Franciscan  .Missions,  01. 

Eraser- River  ("I'acoutcliee-Tassee),  121,  131,  132, 
111— Simon,  .louriiey  of,  1.32,  144. 

F'reebooters,  '27,  32,  .52,  .5.1. 

Fremont,  Lieut.  .lohn  (\,  Expedition  of,  191, 
277,  1.18. 

French -Camp,  '201-Prairle,  228,  2:11,  219,  .306. 

Frondoso.     .See  Adams. 

Frost,  Rev. , I,  H„  212. 

Fruit,  Pioneer  trees,  177,  301. 

Fuca.  Juan  de.  Straits  and  Voyage,  37,  79,  ,S0,  86, 
97,99,  10.S,  114,  117,  118,  122. 

Fur  C'ompanles.  .Vee  American,  Hudson's  liau, 
h'lnp  (Jeori/c's  Soitiid,  Misaourl,  Xnrlhu'e.il, 
Pacific,  Rockfi  Mountain,  Russian  Arnerican. 

Fur  Trade  by  Land  and  Sea,  51  to  5(1,  (10,  89,  m  to 
10.5.  131,  141,  147,  169  to  178,  186  to  206. 

(i 

Galnes-A.,  3(M-Oov.  .John  P.,  .'I'll,  33.5,  ,'l't8,  .•M2, 

316,362. 
Gale,  .loseph,  2.56,  277,  '286  479. 
(iailano,  DIonesio.  N'oyage  of,  118,  123. 
(Jallce  Creek,  Siege  of,  3(15. 
Gallatin,  American  Coinmlssioner  to  England, 

181,  I8.'l. 
(lama,  Vasco  do.  Voyage  of,  '22. 
Ganaevoorl,  Capt.,  V,  S.  N.,  126. 


GKNKRAL    INDEX. 


IX 


GniTlson-Llout.  A.  K.,  :iU.  ITI-t— Capt,  .1.  M.,  27.'), 

28li,:!14,47H. 
Gary,  Hov.  George,  'Ml 
Gaston,  Lieut.  William,  471,  474. 
(Jay,  GeorKe,  tJfi,  ao,  250,  2">:t,  277,  47!i. 
Gearry,  r^pokane  I'hief,  474. 
Geer,  .1.  ('.  and  Kalph,  ;i01. 
Gelger,  Dr.  William,  2:^2,  2<W,  277,  2K2. 
Oelston,  Capt.  H.,  .•!21. 
General  WaiTcn,  Wreek  of  111 e,  Hit!). 
George— Capt.  Abel,  4:t4,  43(1— Fort,  Ift!  to  KiS,  17r). 

Nee  ^.?;ortrt— Point,  ir)4—Hogue  Ulver  Chi    ', 

;)74,  -.Wt,  4:!5,  44!,  44.5. 
Georgla-Giilf  of,  lOS,  114,  12!-New,  12i}. 
Gerlrudls,  Spanish  Vessel,  KKI. 
Gervals— B.,  82«-,Ios('i)h,  22(i,  214,  •i")2,  2.V!,  28(i,  4S(), 
Ghent,  Treaty  of,  Kil. 
Gibraltar,  Fort,  171. 
Gibson,  Llent.,  f.  H.  A.,  .•!!I7. 
(Jllbert,  I.  X.,  2S4,  .Sl.l. 
GllUam-Col.  Cornelius,  2s;!,.!l:i  to  H17-Mltchell, 

->M,  .111. 
Gllmore,  Mat,  27,5,  2S2. 

Goff-navld,  2S4,  2(t8— Clipt.  .\r.  I'.,  4W  to  40:!,  4(1.5. 
(loin  (Goln«),  William,  Killed  by  Indians,  S74. 
(told— Beach,    Lis  to  44(l-lilutr  K.xcltement,  7!l 

—In  Calll'omla,  .tl,  :tai-In  Montana,  7(»-ln 

Oregon,  ICU),  :!:r7— In  Washington,  2X1. 
(ioodnll,  Capt.  J.  P.,  :t.5l. 
Good  Hope,  Cape  of,  '22. 
Goodhue.  Samuel,  2!1S. 
Goodwin.  Lieut.,  4.5it  to  4IW. 
(Jordon,  Captain,  :««•,  4;«. 

Government.    See  Prorincitil  uiul  Tiriiloriiil. 
Governors  of  Oregon,  25(1,  2S1,  2S.5,  2sn,  :!27,  .Cit, 

.■)ll,.l51-Wasliington,  :!l:!. 
(irnnde  Konde— Hlvcr  and  Valley,  1511,  'JI7— liat- 

tie,  1.5ii. 
Grant,  Captain,  H.  I!.  Co.  Agent,  21S,  271. 
Grave  Creek,  :i!i I -.Massacre,  l«l,  :i.5!i. 
(Sraves,  ,1.  H.,  :!.(■!. 
Gray— Ilarljor,  12(i-Capt.  Robert,  liHi  to  lOs,  llii, 

122~W.  H.,   Mls.slonary,  212,  211,  •..51,2;5:i,  251, 

25(1,  2(i5,  2(i7,  277.  2H2. 
Great— Falls  of  the  Missouri,  (ill,  l:l(i--Salt  I.aUe, 

(17,  llll^Hlave  Lake,  7li,  LSI. 
(ireen  River,  liH,  2l:i 
Greenwood,  the  Trapper,  'HH. 
(iregg,  Lieut.,  V.  s.  .\.,  172. 
(Jregory,  ('n|)e,  I  111. 
(Jrler,  Ma|.  William  N  ,171. 
(Jrlllln— Lieut,  liurrell  li.,  :i.5t-Rev.  .ino.  s,.  il2, 

;t;n. 
Grlmm,.I.  W.,.'it!. 
(Jrover,  Lafayette,  ;i.5(),  :!.51,  :i.55,  ■■m,  I7ti. 

II 

Haines,  VIelim  of  Rogue  Ulver  Massacre,  .'(7.5. 

Hakluyt,  the  Geograplur,  2il,  41. 

Hall  -Fort,  211.5,  2l:!,  214,  271,  2!«.  2i«t,  .T2.S— .lohn  H. 

and  Sylvester,  .HI— Capt.  Lawrence,  :!(l(),  .ll:) 

(0  317. 
Haller,  .Maj.  G.  ().,  :t(l2  to  3(14,  3S7,  :W2,  3il8,  4()8,  125, 

lis. 
Hamilton- I'ldward,   31.5- A   Victim    of   Rogue 

.liver  Massacre,  374. 
Hancock,  Cape  (Disappointment,  San   lioque), 

sl,im.  11(1,  122,  l:i7. 
Hnnd,  Lieut.  4111. 
Hn.iglng  of  Indians— by  Clarke  In  IS13,  Kil— In 

Uogue    Ulver   X'alley   In    lSi5:t,  3.51— Ily   MaJ. 

Ilaller  In  1S^54,  3(>l— At  Cascades  In    IH.55,  452— 

Hv  Col.  Wright  in  1S.58,  474— Whitman  Mur- 
derers, 318. 
Hauna,  .lames,  Kxpedltlon  of,  113. 
Haunon,  Lieut.,  4111. 
Hanover,  New,  127. 
Harding,  Ilenl.  F.,  344  to  347. 
Harding  and  Rose,  killed  by  Indians,  3.5). 
Harrngus,  11.,  27(1,282. 
Haro— Canni  de   Lopez  de,  114— Lieut.  Gon/.alo. 

Voyage  of,  102  to  l(l7-Rlo  de,  43. 
Harris— Captain,  3WI— Massacre,  37.5— .Mosos,  21W. 
Hastings,  L.  W.,  24H,2;52. 
Haswell,  Robert,  Diary  of,  I  Hi,  121. 
Hatch,  Peter  H.,  277,  2S2. 
Hathaway,  Kellx,  277,  2«.l,  479. 


Hawaiian  (Sandwich)   Islands,  8(i,  80,    101,  127, 

148. 
Hawchurst  (Hoxhurst),  Weberly,  230." 
Hays- Fort,  4:{.5,4.i(l-Capt.  Gllmore,  372,  105,  107. 

42.5,  420. 
Hay II  Con<|uered,  10. 
Headrick,  brings  Sheep  In  1847,  301. 
Hearne,  Samuel,  Journey  of,  7(1. 
Heath,  Luolen,  351. 
Heceta— Capt.  Bruno,  Voyage  of,  70  to  82— Inlet. 

81,  119. 
Hedges,  A,  F.,  284,  .301. 
Hellgate  River,  l.SO,  42.3. 
Hembree— Capi .  A.  J.,  275,  282,  285,  .300, 3(«,  .1.33. 408, 

428— Andrew,  .lames  and  .L  .1.,  275. 
Hendershott,  Sidney  B..  .3.50,  .3.55. 
Hendrlck,  Abljah,  27.5.  28(1. 
Henncss,  Capt.  B.  L.,4.58  to  40.3. 
Henrietta,  Fort,  411,  413,  410. 
Henry,  Fort,  145,  1.57, 101. 
Hensley,  Thomas  .1.,  27(1. 
Herren,  William  .!.,  2so. 
Her8en,.Iohn,  314. 
Hill— Almoran,27(l-I)avid,  254,  25(i,  l:s2,  28(1,  303, 

.333— Thomas.   AVc  Tom  Hill. 
Hlllsboro,  34.5. 

Hlnes,  Rev.  fJustavus,  232.  242,  2ti,  2i5l,  2.55,  277. 
Hlnmiin,  .Manson,  284. 
Holbrook,  Amory,  3.34. 
Holden,  Horace,  28.5. 
Holderness,  S.  M.,  270.  .3J8. 
Holman— I).  S  ,  27(i-.Josepli  I).,  284,  3.W. 
Holme-s— H.  X.  V.,  .Til- Will  lam  L..  275,  282 
Hood— Mount,  12(i-Canal,  123. 
Hoover,  Jaciob,  284. 
Hope,  American  Vessel,  121. 
Horn,  Cape,  T).!. 
Hoult,  Enoch,  .3.50,  :V51. 
Howard,  .lolin,  257. 
Howlson,  Commandci'  of  IT.  s.  Schooner  S'IkiiI:, 

.300 
Howllsli-Wampoo,  Cayuse  Chief,  410. 
Hoxhurst.    'See  /raiechiii:sl. 
Hubbard,  'I  homas  .1.,  220,  233,  253,  254,  277,  180. 
Hudson -Bay,  22,  3.5,  ">3,  (1.5,  70— Hay  Co.,  22,  .5:1, 

51,  7(1,  83,  01,  131,  144.  Uifl  to    178,  18(1   to   20(1,  227, 

234,  211,  255,  200,  208,  ,Ti4,   ,370,  380,  4()»-(Japl. 

Henry,  Voyage  of,  .53— Capt.  Thomas,  10.5. 
Hull,  Charles  W.,  death  of.  402. 
Humboldt— Bay,  48— River,  2(K). 
Humbug  War,  .371. 
Humphrey',  L.  A.,  3:t3. 
Hungry  Hill,  Battle  of,  3IMi  to  .'t08. 
Hunt,  Wilson  Price,  .lourney  of,  151,  1.57,  104. 
Hunter,  Lieut  ,  Kil,  102. 
Husted,  A.,  27(1,  30.3. 


Icy  Cape,  S8. 
Idc,  William  B  ,  28.8. 
Illinois  River,  441. 

Immigrating  to  Oregon,  Reasons  for,  241, 2(10  to 
2(12,  273. 
I  Immigration— 18:10  and  184(1,  2.32,  177— 1811,  215  to 
247,477-1842,  2,i.S,  217  to  251,  477-1813,  237,  iiN, 
;  200  to  270,  3IMI,  477-  1844,  2.38,  283,  477-184.5,  288, 

!  477— 1810,  21)7— 1847,  ,301,30.3,  478-1848,  470-1852, 

:  310. 

I  Immigrants  and  the  Hudson's  Hay  Co.,  2iO,  2:11 
I         to  211 

1  Imperial  Kaf/le,  Austrian  Vessel,  07. 
'  Ineas,  Subjugation  of  the,  20. 
I  Indian— Agents  and  Huperlntendents,  :!.3r),  3.18, 
;  .344,  :t.57,  :i.58,  .302,  .380  to  :}S7,  4011,  414,  431,  430,  442, 

4.50,402,4114,  407— Ocean,  22-Reservatlons,  :l,57, 
:t80  to  :W,3,  4:14,  438, 44ft— Treaties,  258,  :W1,  .3.38, 
.358,  3<0  to  .385,  400,  412,  447,  407. 
Indian  Wars— Causes  of,  2">8,  270— Cayuse,  :10.5  to 
318-Columbla  River,  mto  to  1858,  370  to  :103, 
40.5  to  4;«,  417  to  477-  Humbug,  371-Puget 
Hound,  :«I7,  420,  108— Uogue  River,  18.51,  m~ 

1852,  ,3;w,:i;io— 18.51,  :t.>3  to  m),  425~ia5i,  301,475 

— 185.5-ri(l,  :t(1.5  to  .370,  104  to  103,  4;t3  to  440,  475- 
Debt,  :i(l(),  475  to  477— Veterans.  Nee  Volun- 
teera. 
Indians.  .Ste  f  Vwcnrfp,  Oiyuse,  Chinook,  Clalnop, 
Oxuit,  Oneiir  W  Alene,  fbic  Creek,  Diilles,  Dea 
ChiUei,  Flalhead,  John  Day,  Klamath,  Kliek- 


X 


HTSTOKY  OK  OKKOOX. 


Hal,  Mandan,  AIuiluv,  MnlitlUi,  Xi'Z  J'ercc, 
.\ootka.  Northern,  Palnunp,  Hslnl  fiiver,  Paget 
Noiind,  Rogue  River,  Snake,  Spokane,  Tilla- 
mook, Tugii,  I'matilla,  I'liipiiiiri,  Walfa  ]\'all(i, 
M'a.ico,  Vakima. 

ludieH,  Kast, '22,  aii,  LT. 

Indignation  Meeting  In  rorlland  in  1S.'>I,  .{(tt. 

Ingalls,  Capt.  (Oen.)  Hufus,  47(i. 

Ineraham,  Capt.,  121. 

Jnlet.  iSee  Admlrallu,  HurrartI,  liiile,  Onok's,  II<- 
ceta,  Knight's,  Portland,  Hirer.',  Smith'x. 

Ipheuenia  Nxtbiuna,  Kngllsh  Vessel,  IIS  to  10.5. 

Irving,  Washington,  \vorks  on  Oregon,  152,  I.V!, 
l.j»,  'Mo. 

Isaac  'Ihdd,  Kngllsh  Vessel,  11)2. 

Islands,  British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  '.>;!,  tl"). 
See  Aleutian,  Hehring'.i,  flriidford'-i,  C\^ii<irs, 
Destruction,  Farallonc,  Fiilttlgo,  Jlawiiiitin, 
King  (reorge,  Ounalaska,  Philippine,  Prince 
of  Wales,  Quadra,  Queen  Charlotte,  Saud- 
ivich,  San  liernardino,  San  ,/iian,  Sauries, 
Schumagim,  Teiada,  Vanrourer,  Vashon, 
Whidby. 

.1 

Jackson— county,  ;i.!7— David,  1!0,  2()1. 

.lacksonville.  .W,  34.5,  .Kt,  .tTli.  :flM. 

.lall,  Flr.st  In  Oregon,  2+1. 

Japan  current,  '>ll 

Jeannvtte,  American  iSchooncr,  ;i2S. 

.lefferson.  President  Thomas,  I.W,  IW,  l.Vi. 

JetTreys,  Thomas,  aw. 

Jefftlcs,  Meut.,  11!). 

.Tennie  dark,  Htoamer,  -l.')!. 

.Jenny,  Kngllsh  Hrip,  120. 

.lennings,  It.,  .ll'l. 

.lesuit  Missions,  n4. 

Jewells  Ferry  .Vltuckert  by  Indians,  .!;i. 

Joe  Lewis,  Indian  (Jonsplrator,  .KIT  to  :!11. 

Joe,  Hogue  lUver  Chief,  :ir)7  to  Mw. 

.lohn.  Rogue   Kivcr  Cliief,  ^n,  .«•.">,  ll«.  III  to  HH. 

John  DHy— Indians,  .■W2.  MKl-IUver,  l:«i,  liii,  2H!i, 
4m-Baltle  of.  :!17. 

Joint  Occupation,  liiS,  I.S.5  to  2  Ki.  2!M,  •£):,. 

Johnson— Daniel,  David  and  James,  2K1— over- 
Ion,  27H,iS2-\Vllilani.  2:ii,  2l:i,  277. 

Johnstone's  .Straits,  121. 

Jones -Hen,  I.W— Capt.,  1'.  s.  \  11(1  to  ll.!-Fort, 
•'Ml,  .IVi— Victim  of  Hogue  liivor  .Massacre, 
M74— John,  27t!, -iiW. 

Joseph,  Nez  Perce  CI;*ol',:r)S,  :!,S2. 

.Tournaiisni,    Sec  Sewspapers. 

Journey.  iS'cc  Carver,  fraser,  Jleanic,  Lii  lion- 
tan.  Lane,  Lcdyard,  Meek,  Overland,  Pilrher, 
Pike,  Whitman:  see  also  KroedHion  and  I'n/i- 
age. 

Judali,  Capt.  H.  M  ,  ■KiS,  :«ii). 

Judges  of  the  Provisional  Government  and  Su- 
preme Court,  •2:t.'l.  218,  2.")7,  'JSl,  ^K.-),  :t2l,  .■!2S,  :l.t.-|, 
■ll't,  311,  3."!l. 

Judson.  Uev.  I,.  U.,  2.'!2,  211,  2.")7,  '277. 

Juinp-olt-Joc  Kivcr,  \W. 

K 

Kaih-Kalh-Koosh  HIver.    Sie  Clearu-ater. 

Kama-l-akun,  Yakima  <  lii.'f,  :wii,  :Wlto.!li:l,  r.li, 
42),  42i),  4')(1.  4.")S,  Hi.-.. 

Kanilah  Mission,  211. 

Kamlchatku,  '>H,  mi. 

Kaut/,,  Meut.  A.  V..:ri7,  :iii(l. 

Kayser.    See  Keizer 

Kearney,  Oen.  Phil,;iW 

Keene,  Uranville,  Murder  of,  :>7a. 

Keeney,  Capt.  Jonathan,  3'.Ki,  1 1 !. 

Keith— Capl.  b.  W'.,  •2:12— .Vgenl  of  Northwest 
Co.,  107. 

Kel/.er,  T.  D.,  W2,  270,  2S0,  282. 

Kelley,  Hall  J.,  '221,  22-),  '.'■20. 

Kelly,  Col.  James  K  ,  ;l.Ml,:i."il,:i.')l,  111,   in  to  ir. 

Kelsay,  Col.  John,  .'W),  :!.V>,  4-21,  1.10  to  i:W. 

Kendrick,  Capt.  John,  X'oyago  of,  IIHI  lo  II H,  I  l"i, 
110. 

Kllbourn,3.tl. 

Killen,  1)  ,  477. 

Klm-so-etnlin  River.    iSV'c  Tukannon. 

King  (leorge  III— Archipelago,  8'2— English  ves- 
sel, ll.'i—"  Men  and  lloslons,"  1110,  11)7— Sound. 
Ike  A'ootA-ei— Sound  Co.,  I).'),  105. 


King,  \V.  M.,'«t 

Kings,  River  of,  42,  47,  50,  07,  m,  S7,  1 10,  1 17. 

KInnev,  Robert  C,  Il'W,  ^lO,  .'iiio. 

Klamath— Indians,  .■«)'2— River,  :t37. 

Klickitat— Indians,  4tt5,  448  to  4.>1,  4.">'*— Valley 

421). 
Knighton,  H.  M.,  28.5,  ".2S. 
Knight's  Inlet,  I'il. 
Knox,  ',.  n.,31.!. 
Kone,  Rev,  W.  W.,  28'2. 
Koos-k<ios-kee  River.     .See  Clearu-ater. 


lialironte,  Lewis,  aii),  47!) 

I.abra  '   r  Coast  and  Straits,  22,  ;!4. 

Iiidcraul,  lladier,  or  /ania  l.iideriHit,  211. 

I.u'ly  Washington,  .Vnierican  Vessel,  100  to  120. 

Lai  lyette.  Town  of,  3:13. 

I.af'amboise,  Michell,  Hudson's  May  Company 

.\genl,  201,  479. 
LaHontan,  liaron.  Journey  of,  00. 
Lake.  See  Ashley,  Belle,  Great  .Salt,  O.-eat  Slare, 

Afedical,     Mono,     Tule,     Vclasco,    Winnipeg, 

Woods. 

Lamerlck— Fort,  4.i8,  442,  44."i-f}en.  John  K.,  .•till, 

avi  to  .too,  ••«)S,  4.31,  435,  ^Hi^,  412.  415. 
I<ancaster,  Judge  (,'olumbla,  2IK,  .'|:|3 
Lander,  Judge  Kdward,  313. 

Lane-Fort,  .iliO,  370,  .171,  •HIO,  434,   ri.5— Gen.  Jos., 
.•f27,  .•!2S,  :!.31,  3:14,  :l:t8,  31:1,  314,  :H0,  :{.5ii,  :r.l,  :!5I  to 
:m,  17.5. 
t.apage  River.    ,SVe  .John  Pay. 
Lal'erouse,  Voyage  of,  01. 
Lapwal  .Mlssion.211,  215.  •25'*,  :i  Hi,  121. 
Larl.son,  John,  •2:^2. 
I.atshaw,  .Mai.  \V.  L.,  Ill  to  |:1S,  115. 
Lawson,  (i.  W.,  2:12,  210. 
Lawyer.  Nez  Perce  Chief,  211,  :!Si.  173 
Layton,  Capt.  and  .Ma.|.  Davis,  421,  151.  Ml. 
Lazarus  Archipelago,  f2. 
LeBreton,  George  \V'.,  2i:t, '252  to  251, -2.57, '277.  2S  I, 

170. 
Ledyard,  John,  Journey  of,  1)1. 
Loe-Harton,281,  280— Daniel,  20.-t  lo22l-.Mi^.  H. 
A.  G.,  '270.  •280,  :)I2  to  317— .lason,  208  U>  221,  2:«l, 
242,  213,  251,  •2.V!,  '277,  280. 
Legislature-- 1st!,  -251—1811,  ■2S2-I.1I.5.  285  to  '288- 
1810,  :ll)0— IS17.  3  II— 1818.  :101-I81!I.  3)3—18.51),  :«5 
-18.52,  312-18.5.3,  341—1851,  :)I5-K5.5,  317— 18V), 
:)40     1^57,  :l.51— 1858,  .151,  :ri'2. 
I.cland,  Fort,  4:10.  4:!S. 
L',  nl  Leoti.  or  Ihe  Prairie  Flower,  2:12. 
Lenox,  I),  or  K..  270,  280. 
Leslie,  Rev.  David.  217,  213,  '251,  '277. 
Lewis— (,'ounty,  2so  -Hainan   ('.,  .'1.50,  :!52'i,— Joe. 
See  .foe  //eic;.i— Capt.  .Meriwether,  l:tl  to  li:l— 
Reuben,    210,    '257,  277— River.    See    Snake- 
capt.  William  B.,  :tii>-n.  R..  178. 
Lewis  and  Clarke's  F.xpedltlon,  1:11  lo  li:i. 
Lexington,  on  Clatsop  Plains,  :t:il. 
Linn  -City,  311-Seiuitor  Lewis  F.,  210,  21.5.  •240. 
Linnvilie,  II.,:iOI. 

Llmpy,  Rogue  River  Cliicl,:l7l.:)li5,  |:i5,  III,  115. 
LIttleJohn,  P.  B.,  il2. 
Little  Meadows   1:10. 
Lock,  Michael,  Narrative  of.  :t7, 
Logan,  David,  .'1.511,  .1,51. 
Lolo  Trail,  I.'IO,  141. 
Long  Dr.  John  K.,  270,  281,  28:1,  i;.s5. 
Looking Olass-Nez  Perce Clilef,:l8J-\'alley,  lol. 
Lookout  Cape.    See  Tillamook. 
Looney,  .lesse,  '270,  :100. 
Loretto,  Mission  of,  01. 
Luring,  Col.,  .'tit. 
Los  Angeles,  Port,  ill. 
Lot  Whitcomh,  Steamer,  :i:lO,  311. 
Louisiana,  Province  01,0.5.  71,  l:lO,  1:12,  1:14.  141. 
l,ove|oy,   .\.    Lawrence,  218,  20:1,  201),  2+2,  2.S.5,  280, 

•.m,  :10I,  :«1,  :t.50,  .3r>4. 
Lower  California,  10,  51,  01. 
Lownsdale,  I).  II..  :1IM). 
Lneler,  Ktlnne,  11)0,  220,  -."M,  '243,  '2.5:1,  48ii. 
Luelling,  Henderson,  Traveling  Nursery  of,  :)01. 


LuptoD,  MaJ.  Jas.  A.,  Death  of,  :I7: 
Lydia,  Aniericun  Vessel,  1:18. 


(iENERAL    INDKX. 


M 

Mackenzie,  Alexander,  Journey  of,  and  Uiver, 

131. 
Madrid,  Treaty  of,  VM. 
Magellan-Vovagp  of,  111— Straits,  l!i,  S\,  2M. 
Magistrates.    Ifee  Judf/es. 
Magone,  .Joseph,  ;il2. 

Magruder,  Kd.  and  Theoplillus,  2'tl,  :I2-I,  .'I'll. 
.Vlulesplna,  Voyage  of,  ll.'i. 
.Vlaldonp.do,  Capt.   Lorenzo    Ferrer  de,  N'oviige 

of, ;« to ;«!. 

Maley,  \V.,  :»'t. 

Maloney,  ('apt.  M.,  .'W7,  407,  WH,  l>.\  IL'ii. 

Mandan  Indians,  lil,  IVt. 

.Maqutna,  Nootka  Chier.ilS,  llii. 

Marco  Polo's  Travels,  IS 

Marlon— County,  :i.'W— (Jf  the  Mexican  War,  :tT. 

Marple,  P.  H.,  m,  :iV,. 

.Marshal.    See  Unil--U  Stalex  Mamhiil. 

Marshall,  Jas.  W.,  Discoverer  of  liold  In  Cali- 
fornia, 2M,  3:il. 

Martin,  Col.  William  J  ,  '.Til,  .'t(M,  314,  •t.'i.s,  3!iil,  :!!H», 

Martinez— Cape.  Sec  Flatlpry—F.iiUsnn,  Vciyiige 
of,  78,  lO-i  to  107. 

Mary,  Hteamer,  SXi,  44H  to  4.>'i. 

Mary  Dacret,  American  brig,  204. 

Mari/land,  American  brig,  244. 

Mary's  Hlver.    See  Humboldt. 

.Marysville.    fiee  CorvalCh. 

Mason,  Oov.  Charles  H.,  343,  :184,  ;W«,  40-),  ii'i. 

Massacre -Cove,  lit)— ofSmllh's Trappers  In  IH27, 
1!W,  im  to  KW— of  Pilcher's  Trappers, '201— of 
Dr.  Bailey's  Party  In  l«3.i,  ^-iO-of  Indians  at 
Oregon  City,  2H0— of  Immigrants  by  Modocs, 
.'ttit-ot  Kogue  River  Indians  In  IS.'Vi,  .'V).'!— of 
Hose  and  Harding  in  18-")3,  .'loJ— at  Grave 
Creek  In  ia>3,  330— Bates  House  In  lS.-)3,  .TiO- 
of  Ward  Family  by  Hnake  Indians,  3ill— of 
Phillips  In  1S.-14,  .S«!l-of  Fields,  Cunnlgbam 
and  Werner  In  iHTyi,  :i70— of  Hill,  Plillpot, 
Dyer  and  McCue,  in  ISV),  .'!7l~-ol  Indians  by 
r.uptonandHaysIn  18-V>,  372-of  Uogne  Itivcr 
Valley  Settlers  in  Wr,,  374  to  37«-or  .Mattlco 
and  Holan  by  Y  ak  I  mas,  .'W-'i,  :i.so,  3!KI— of  In- 
dians in  Looking  Glass  Valley,  40l— of  Kogue 
River  Indians  In  IH.>>,  401— ol  Peu-peu-mox- 
mox,  417  to  4l»-at  Seattle,  420 -at  (4(>ld 
Beach,  430— at  Cascades,  .'I'W  to  44H.  Nn  iilxo 
Whitman. 

Matlock,  W.  T.,  32S, :«!. 

Matthleu,  F.  X.,  248,  2.57,  277,  '.S'i,  '280. 

Mattlce,  Murder  of,  :t8.). 

MatEger,  William,  :»>.  3>1. 

Maurelle,  Voyage  of,  70  to  82,  01. 

Mauzey,  William.  27(1, 

Maxon,  MaJ.  H.  J.  O.,  313  to  317, 

Mc.Vuliff,  Lieut.  .lames  A.,  410. 

McBean-.Iohn,  414,  U.5-Wllilam,  311. 

McBrlde— James,  3'2S— John  R.,  Itto,  3.V). 

.McCarty,  William,  244,  •2,")7,  '277. 

McCarver,  Gen.  M.  M.,  237,  270,  282,  '287,  .'ilHt. 

McClane,  John  B., '270. 

McCloud  (.McLeod)  River,  200. 

McClure,  Joiin,  2?7,  '2*1. 

McCormick,  'Wl,  .'tol. 

McDanlel,  Elisha  P.,  '284. 

McDermIt,  Capt.  Chas,,  330. 

McDonald,  Angus,  3110. 

McDougal,  Duncan,  1.51,  1,511,  1(10, 1(13. 

.McFOlroy,  T.  F.,  343. 

McFadden,  Judge  O.  B.,  31'!,  341. 

McGruder.    See  Mngrutler. 

McKay— Alexander,  1.51,  1.5!!,  218,  313-Charlos, 
277,  313,  31.5- John,  '248- Thomas,  1.51,  10.5,  1!KI, 
2.58,  •2((.'l,  277,  "■-.   '""  ,   lo  317-William   ('., 

1,51, '2(«,;-  .11. 

McKean,  S.  r  .,  :13.3. 

.McKenzle,  Donald,  131,  1(11,  \M. 

McKlnlay,  Arclilbuld,  •Z58,  2S(). 

McLaren,  Lieut.  R.  N.,  1.54. 

McLean,  Judge  John  XVi. 

McLellan,  Robert,  137  to  101. 

McLeod,  Kxpedltion  of,  108,  21'J. 

Mctoughlln— Dr.  John.  10.5  to  100, 200, '212.  228, 'Jtl, 
•J3(l,  244,  210,  '2.52,  2,50  -Joe,  100,  210-Mounl.  ISvc 
Shantii. 


m,  I.5S  to  urn. 


McRoy,  (;.,  2.5.3,  '2.57. 

McTavlsh,  J.  Q..  I(p'2,  1(13. 

Meadows  Campaign,  .'(90,  4,'!0  to  488,  442. 

Meares,  Capt  .John,  Voyages  of,  05  to  112,  1*25. 

.Medical  Lake,  47.'!. 

Meek-Joseph  L..  232,  240.  2.51, 257,  '277,  281,  285,  :iOrt, 
3a3,  .■!'22,  327,  33:1,  :»5-Stephen  IL,  248,  280. 

Meigs,  C.  R.,  .'1.50,  •■m. 

Memorial-to  Congress  In  Wil,  2'i't— of  1810,21.5— 
Ofl8l3,2.50-Cln('innatl  in  1843, '202- of '.tregon 
Legislature  In  I8.5'2,  .'I4;i— of  Montlcello  Con- 
vention, :t4.'t— of  Cayuses  to  Americins,  317— 
to  Congress  In  1848,  .')22— about  Gen.  Wool, 
i-£i. 

Mendocino,  Cape,  2(1,  70.  118. 

Medoza— .\ntonlc  de.  2.5— Pedro.  19. 

Merchfnitman,  American  Schooner,  3.10. 

Mctcalf,  Robert,  Indian  .\gent,  ;).57. 

.Methodist  M Issions,  208  to  '221,  •2;tl ,  2:12, 2.50, 258, 280. 

Mexicana,  Spanish  Vessel,  117,  r2'3. 

Mexico- Coniiuered  by  Cortez,  10— War  with, 
205. 

MIchaux,  .\ndre,  Kxpedltion  of,  l.'{4. 

Militia.    Sen  Volunleim. 

.Mlller-Capt.  Rluford,  i:>8  to  4(.'i-Capt.  John  F., 
351  to.SliO— Jo.seph,  1.5V— Richard,  .'W),  .1.55. 

.Mills,  Pioneer  Grist  and  Saw,  177,  2'i3, 

Milton, Town  of,  .'t'i3. 

Mllwaukle,  Town  of,  :U'!,  3;i.5,  310. 

MInto,  Jol)n,2vi,  281, 

Missions,  Caliiolic.  Sec  .Anif  i  lean  liotiril,  Call - 
fnrnta,  Coeiir  it'  Alenc,  Dominican,  flathead, 
Fraiieincun,  h'leiirh  J^rniiic,  .Tcnuit,  Kamiuli, 
iMpivai,  Lorelio,  Melhodixl,  Snake  Hiver,  S/io- 
kane,  J  lie  Dallcx,  l/inritillii,  Vancouver,  Wrii- 
latpu,  ydAci'nw— Contllctliig  interest'  and 
Controversy,  218  to  221,  '23?,  StU,  '281,  .ilk'  to  311. 

.Mlssl»8lp|)l  River,  08,  72. 

Missouri— Fur  Company,  1 15,  101  — River.  Oil,  Oi, 
00,71,72,  135,  11'.'. 

Modoc  Indians,  .'Ml,  300,  301. 

.Molalln  Indians,  270. 

Moiu'y  used  in  Oregon,  2)0,  288,  3!0. 

.Mono  Lake,  1!I3. 

Monroe— Doctrine,  180— President,  Message  of 
I8'2;t,  180— Judge  Victor,  313. 

Montana  Kxplored  by  the  Verendryes,  lio,  70— 
by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  130,  1 12. 

Monterey  Harbor,  47,  31. 

Montezuma  Conquered,  10. 

Montgomery- Camp,  4.57  Cu|)t.  I',  .s.  N.,  :U2— 
Port,  122. 

Montlcello  Convention,  313. 

Moore— M.,  '284— Robert,  'J.'U,  •2:i't,  213,  '251,  '277- 
Lieut.  W.  A.,  300. 

Moores,  Isaac  R.,  330,  3.54. 

.Morera's  .lourne.v  troin  Oregon  to  Mexico    in 

1.578,  80. 
Morrlson-J.  L.,  '240,  277,  •280-R,  W.,  -281. 
Moslier,  Capt.  L.  F.,  3.5s. 
.Moss,  S.  W.,  '241,  277,  285. 
.Mount.     See     JIakcr,    Kilgecuuih,    Fairweatlivv, 

Hooil,  Mcl.ouiihlin,  Olympus,  Hainier,  Shasta, 

Siskiyou,  SI.  Helens,  St.  Klias,  San  Jacinto. 
Mountains,     see  Blue,  Bitter  Hoot,  Canyon,  Cas- 

caite.  Roeku. 
MucklcHhoot  Prairie,  4'20. 
Mulkey,  .1.  L., :«)!,  3W. 
Multnomah— county,  303— Origin  of  Name.  I.'IO— 

River.    See  Willamette. 
Munger,  Rev.  .Vsahel,  '2;i'2. 
.Munkurs,  F.  M.,314. 
Munson.Capt.  Lynuin  B.,  IP    117  to  120. 
Murderers'  liarbor,  101. 
Musselshell  River,  70. 
.Myths  of  Oregon  History,    lire  Anian,  Qtrrer, 

Cibola,    Ii\>nte,    Fuc.a,     Maldonado,    Quivira, 

Wliitman. 


Natdiess— Pass,  3(*'2,  107,  125,  4.'i()— River,  1.50. 
National  Jnielligpnecr,  Gen  Wool's  letter  in,  380, 

423. 
Neah  Bay,  111,  118,  121,  125. 
Net',  .\lexander,.\tley  (Olday),  Calvlii,  George, 

Peter  and  Robert,  281. 
Negro  Slavery.    See  Slavery. 
Nelson,  George  and  J.  C,  'JKU 


XI  r 


IIISTOKY  OF  OKK(J0N. 


N'esinlUi,  Oen.  James  W.,  -T:!. 
;;i  i,;Kt,  3H,  .'W,  -un,  h;  to  ii.-i 


JS-J.  3i- 

.11,  11!  I. 


as7,  .'J  1 1, 


Xesciuaily  .Mission  and  Settlement,  •-'Ji,  iltl. 

\e\\ — Albion,  a»,  .'il,  Tli,  s.->,  Sti— Caledonia,  Ill- 
Cornwall.  I'iT— Dnnginess,  12:{-<ieors;ia,  lii, 
Hanover,  127— Mearket.  Her  Tumnalfr— 
Spain  l!l,  i"). 

Newli.v,  \V.  T.,  l-W.. 

Newnomb,  Daniel,  .'(.'jfl,  :!."vi. 

Newell,  Dr.  Kobert,  ai,  2lii,  25:t,  i'v4,  277,  SG,  2sti, 
;!0i),  .tni. 

Newspapers,  First  in  Oregon,  :!0i).  Setr  Colum- 
bian, Oregiiniaii,  Spcctalar,  Star,  Slati-.tmaii, 
Times. 

Ne/.  Perce  (Chopunnlsh)  Indians,  l.iii.  111.  liil, 
■M2,  211,  213  to  21M,  220,  2.">s,  :ui!i,  :!I2,  :W2.  lii,  421, 
j:)7.  4.">H,  4B2,  4(>.'>,  4(>(>,  171,  17:!. 

.N'iehols— H.  ».,  ■■ir*>,  T.")— Henlaniln.  .John  and 
Frank,  2S4. 

Nicholson,  I'ioneer  of  ISKi,  212. 

.Noble,  .lolin  F.,'!<>2. 

Noland,  ('apt.,  HI. 

Noinen<-latiire  of  Hie  I'ai'ilic  Coast,  7S  to  S2,  Sil 
loHS,  !i!l,  12:!  to  127.  i:«i,  lil!i,  2Ji. 

Nookanils,  Newetee  Chief,  IV!. 

Nootka- -Controversy,  lis  to  lili— Convention,  ill 
— Fnglisli  Vessel, !lii-  Indians. .S7.  !'>:!— Sound. 
7X,  .S7,  ii:!. !«  to  nil,  Ul:|  to  Ills,  Us,  122.  121.  127 
fo  12!l. 

North— Cape,  H«— Sea.    See  Arctic. 

Northern  Indians  Invade  I'ufiet  Sound.  :H17, 
42ti,  4(kS. 

.NortlK-rn  (Iregon.     Sec  M'ashini/lon. 

?forthire.it  America.  First  Vessel  built  on  North- 
west Coast,  101  to  12.">. 

Northwest  -Company,  i:!l.  111.  l"i(i,  1(12,  loo,  looto 
171— Passage,  21  lois.  :l:i  to  .")0, -c'  to  .'i7.  71.  70, 
Si,  SO,  S7,  111,  !>:!,  '.I'l,  ll"i,  1 17,  127,  1:11. 

Notre  Dame,  sisters  ol',  2S|. 

Novus  Muiulus  (.\inerioa).  22. 

Nuevo  Hispanola  (.Me.xieoi,  I'.i. 

Nunez  Uaona,  Porto.    Sec  .Vr«/i  Jluii. 

Nursery,  'I'rHveiing  of,  1S|7,  :!01. 

(I 

Dak  Flat  Council,  112,  111. 

Oak  Point,  140. 

Oatnian.  11.  It.,  :r70. 

OBryant,  H.  |).,:il:l. 

Ocean.     See  Arctic  ami  I\icific. 

ot11<'ers  of  Oregon  Provisional  liovernnienl 
1S4:I,  2.")!,  2i7— ISI4,2S1,  2'i2— Isl"),  ■js.'i-isio,  :liii, 
1S47.  ;!IW-1S4S,  :U)I,  .,2S— Territorial  (Jovern- 
inent,  ISIH,  :i2S,  .tt.!— IS-'iO.  :!:i.-.-l.s.-.l,  .il?- LvVl. 
:1H— ISM,  ;il.">— Slate  (JoverninenI,  isw,  :i)l  — 
of  Washington,  First,  .li:). 

Ogden— Peter  skeen,  ;iNi,. {12— Itiver.  .SVp  Ilum- 
boldl. 

Okanogan  Fort  and  Itlver,  l.">7. 

Okotsk,  Gult  of,  .'17. 

(Md  .John,  Ho^ue  Pivert  hief,  :j.'il. 

Olds,  M.  or  \V.,  .Wl,  .tV.. 

Olley,  Ke\'.  .\.  P.,2!2. 

Olney— .ludge  Cyrus,  .'!ll,:!."m,  :rr>— Nallian,  310, 
.302,  4IKI  to  41.">. 

Olyiiipla,  34:!. 

Olympus,  .Mount,  7S,  12il. 

o'Aleara,  James,  :l'il. 

O  Neal,  Capt.  Hugh,  Kt!,  |:!:ilo  1.3"). 

O'Nell,  James  A.,  22.1,  2M  lo  2)0. 

Ontario,  American  War  Vessel,  10."),  107. 

Orchard,  Port,  121. 

Ord,  Capt.  K.  O.  C  122,  tlO  to  41!. 

Oregon— Admission  of,  .tM,  :!.")2-.\nierlean  Soci- 
ety for  the  Settlement  of, '221- Hills  in  Con- 
gress, 21.'),  :!24  to  327,  .■iV2— Citv.  21:!,  2:!S,  211. 
2411,  2')4,  277,  ISO,  2S:l,  :!l!l,  317- Discovery  of,  20 
—E.xchange Company, .3:4:1— First  Settlement 
of,    14,"),    22!l,    23«)-Iustltute,    2")1  -Origin     of 


Name, 72  to 
1711  to  I.Si"       ' 
Klver,  117 


:  to  70- IJuestlon,  1:1:!,  144,  101  to  lOS, 
1711  to  I.So,  2;il,  272,,  2!HI   to  2!I7-  ititles,    :!12- 


r:l.    Sec  Columbia    Spectator.  :!0 1- 
Hteamer,  42:!-"  Style  "   of   Journalism.  :i:>0, 
422,  42S-  -Territory  Organized,  :!i!i  to  :UI. 

Oreuonian,  Tli(,:W>,  .t47,:!(5.3,  3ill,  11.3,  4l!l,  121  to  121, 
i:«). 

orford— Cape,  lUl    Port,  :i;l!l,  ;fiMl,  4:l»,  440,  443,  (111. 

Otondo,  .Xdmiral  Don  Isdrode,  ,jl. 


ounalaska  Island,  SH,  102. 

Overland  Journeys.  131,  i:W  to  14.3,  l.'>7  lo  100,  101, 

I!r2  to  lill,  2IHI.  201  to  1.04,  2IIS,  210  to  214,  217,  22"i, 

:140  lo-.."yi.  200  to277,  2SS  to  Jill,  2il!l,  :KII   lo  -Ml, 

.322  to  •321,  340,  311. 
Owens,  Ca|)t.  F-llas  .\.,:l;")l   to  ;!(10  -('apt.  James 

W.,  31:!— John,  2si,  21ls— I  lioinas,  270. 
owhi,  Yakima  Chief,  474. 

I' 

Pacilio— City.  :'vl2— Fur  Co.,  iriO  lo  HI.")- Ocean,  l!l, 

•2:!,  01,  s.")— .Spain's  Monopoly  ot  the,  27— Tele- 
graph Co.,  :147. 
Packwood,  William  H.,  .liO,  :r>-). 
Palmer.  (Jen.  Joel  1..,  2S0,  :!1.3,  :!44,  .3")8,  .3H0  to  3.h:\. 

+11,  442,  407 
Palouse  -Indians,  101,  :!S0    410,  420,400,470,474— 

Klver,  l:f7,  4-2s. 
I'ambrun,  P  C.,  -2(0,  212,  21:i,  247. 
Parker— S.,  .ttl-Dr.  Samuel,  210  to  212,  21!t,  271  — 

William  (J.,  270,  2IK 
Parmentler  Hiver,  4:1. 

Parrlsh.  Kev.  Joslah  1...  2:12,  213,  2.")!,  2">l,  277. 
Pataha  River,  141. 
•Pathfinder.    •277. 
Patit  Klver,  ill. 
Patton.  K.,:iol. 
Payne,  J.  K.,311. 
I'eace  Klver,  1:!1. 
/liW/ar,  .\mcrican  Itrig,  loi. 
I'eebles,  J.  C,  :i'iO,  :!.">">. 
Peers,  Henrv,  .100.  ;liM. 
Pend  d'  Oreille  Kiver,  l:iO, :!  0.  :IS4. 
I'oe-peo-inox-mox,  Walla   Walla  Chief,  l-'W,  2jii, 

.■!S1,  Kril,  411  to  410. 
P'-rez-  Juan,  Voyage  ol,  7s,  70— Fntrada  de,  117. 
Perils,  Cape  of, 20. 

Perkins,  Kev.  H.  K.  W.,  217,  277,  27!l. 
Perry.  W.  T.,'277.  2S2. 
Peru  (Conquered,  10. 
Petroiiaulovski,  SO. 
Petiygrove,  F.  W.,  277. 
Philip  11  and  III  of  S|iain,  |.~).  lit. 
Philippine  Islands, '27. 
Phillips,  Kdward.  .Murder  ol,  :10!I. 
PichlingueR.     Sec  hreebontcrii. 
Pickett,  Charles  K.,  270,  2*0. 
I'ierce— President  Franklin,  :i4:!— Meiil.  Thos 

r2!i. 
I'ierre  Jerome,  Indian  Chief,  :lS."i. 
Pike,  .lournev  of  liieut.,  1  i:l. 
Pilclier,  Maj.,  .lourney  of,  200,  213. 
Pillow,  Lieut.  C.  H.,  41(1. 
Pistol  Kiver  Indians,  llii,  ll."i. 
Pitt,  Fort,  100. 

I'izarro,  Francisco,  Con<iuests  ol,  10. 
Pl<\moiidon,  ,s.,  :io4, 
Platte  Kiver,  00. 
Point- .\dams,    l'22— of    Kocks,   battle    of,  2211- 

Reyes  47— Santa  Cruz,  r2:i. 
Poland,  (apt.  .lohn,  4:l.s,  4:10. 
Polk.  County— '2'2S— President  .lames  IC,  '2S!1,  •2,l|, 

2!il  to  2!M),  :!10,  :!22,  :!2I,  ,'1'27,  :!2s. 
Pomeroy,  Waller.  2111. 
Pompeys  I'l  liar,  142. 
Population  of  Oregon  in  is:!."),  •2^2()-lS4o,  212,  2'!0— 

lsr2,  24!l— !s4:l,  '27.-)— lSt4,  2S.3-1HI."),  2SS— isiil,  'llX. 
Port.    .SVc  Boiletja  y   Qutulra,  Bucarcli,  Imh    Av- 

gcles,  Moiilj/omeri/,  Nunez  Gaona,   Orcliaril, 

Orforri.  Pusaexxion,  Townxenil, 
Portet\  W.  W.,311. 
Portlus,  William,  :!ill. 
Portland- City,  xa,  :i;i"),3.l7,  :!l."i,  :!I7  to  :ll!i,  :!i«,  i:i\, 

4,")4— Inlet,  IIB. 
Part  lock,  Capt.,  Voyage  of,  !i.">. 
rort.«mou</i,  I'.. s.  Man-of-war,  .'!22. 
Portuguese  Colon  ii's,  10. 
Possession— Port,  •2")— Sound,  1'2:!. 
Postofflces,  First,  :110. 
Polosl  .Mines,  10. 
Powell— J.  H..  Killed  by  Indians,  :17«—Capl.  I..J„ 

4.">:!,  4.")4,  4.")0  to  4t):i 
Prattler,  Theodore  and  William,  'iX\. 
I'ratt,  Judge  o.  C.,  .■l'2s. 
Prevost,  J.   H.,   I'nili'il   States    CominisHloner, 

10"  to  107. 
I'rigg,  Frederick,  270,  28").  ' 

Prim,  Judge  I'.  P.,  :i."ili,  I'll. 


mmma 


(iKNKi:AI,    INDKX. 


\  1 1 1 


Princena  Rt'<d<ind  Priitwin  Hoijiil,  Spanish  aiul 
KiigUsh  vessel,  1(12  to  lis. 

Princess,  SpftnlBh  vessel .  !M. 

Prince  of  Wales— Cape,  S.s—Kiigllsh  vessel,  Ido— 
Island,  H2. 

I'rinee  William's  Soiinii,  H8,  !M>,  Iii2. 

I'rintinK  I'ress,  First  In  Oregon,  21'). 

Prllchott,  Klnl/.lntf,  .'KS. 

rroelamatlon— (iov.  Curry,  IH.').),  :W!1— (iov.  Lane, 
1H4!1,  :i28— Oov.  Mason,  IS.>),  ;i8it— Col.  Steptoe, 
Kill— Gov.  Stevens,  .{11. 

Protestant  Missions,  207  to  221,  2.V,  ■.m  to  :il2. 

I'rovlslonal  Government,  211  to  2')7,  27!)  to  ^iill, 
.11 S  to  ;i2H. 

PuKh.Capt.  W.  r.,:!l:!,  •'ill. 

I'uget  Sound,  111,  123— AKricultural  Co..  2:U— In- 
dian War,  4a%  42(i,  lliS-Settlement,  28.'). 

y 

Quadra  (Cuadra)  Island,  12").    .Sec  hotlegu. 
tJueeu Charlotte  -Kngllsh  vessel,!).')— Islands, 7H, 

IK),  117— .Sound,  121. 
Quimper,  Lieut.  Manuel,  Voyase  i.l'.  111. 
Uulvlra,  Mythical  City  of,  •£>,  r*^. 

K 

Haboln,  Louis,  :wn. 

Kaceoim,  Kngllsh  War  vessel,  Hl^i. 

Ualnes,  Ma|.  <i.  .1.,  :i  i2,  :!S(i  to  .iH.!,  1 1")  to  112,  li'i, 
121). 

Itainier,  Mount,  121. 

Uamsely,  Lieut.  M  ,  2.'<i,  M\. 

Hansom  of  Prisoners  from  Cayuses,  .IPJ. 

Kector,  William  II.,  .MM,  :«1. 

Redtleld,  attacked  by  Indians,  :I77. 

Ked  River  of  the  Norlli.  i>7,  72,  7:t,  Ill-Colony, 
2:14.  2i).'t— ImmlKrants,  217. 

Keed-Ar.  H.,  .Wi,  ;!.")l— .lacob,  2(>s,  27(l-.l<)lin,  Mas- 
.sacreof,  1(12.  1(U.— T.  .\.,.'i7.'). 

Kees,  Wlllard  II.,  2H;t,  2S4. :«).!. 

Regulars,  XU,  XiH,  H21  to  :t.">K. .'««,  :i7(),  :!.S(i  to  :;sK,  Kn 
to4(W,  112,  121  to  12:1,  HO  to  III,  110  lo  |.->.!,  IV>, 
Id.!  to  17."). 

Hellefof  Immigrants  of  W)2,  .'111. 

Hemick,  W.  C,  277,  282. 

Keniond,  Narclsse,  410,  412,  42  I. 

Representative  to  Congress,  .'t.")l . 

Republic,  Steamer.  IJ;!. 

Reservation,  Indian— Ne/  Peree,  .">y.'— Rogue 
River,  .tlN— Sllet/,,  |:il— Table  lloi'k,  :l()  l- 
I'matllla,  :!H0— Warm  Springs,  :K2— Wallii 
Walla,  .'WO-Yaklma,  .180. 

Resolution,  Capt.  Cook's  vessel,  .SI  to!Kl. 

Revilla-Olgedo,   Viceroy  of  .Mexico,  107,  II.'),  127. 

Reyes,  Itio  de  los.     See  Kmq's  Riyir. 

Reynolds,  (apt.,  I",  s.  \..  I.ts.  440,  11.!. 

Ulee— Capt.  10.  A..  :1.'>1,  |i«.  i:tl— L.  A.,  2si,  :!:i|- 
Settlement,  KHi. 

Richards,  R<'V.  G.  P.,  2 12. 

lilchard.son,  .lohn,  27ii,  2Sii. 

Rlggs,  .lames  H.  and  Kufus  .V.,  2Ss. 

RIneiirson,  Capt.  .lacob  S.,  :l|:!,  .■!7(),  :17!I,  :iOli. 

Rio.    Sei'  Aguiliir,  JU'ih^i,  Ilaro,  Hepos, 

HIver.  iSVc  Aiiuilar,  Ahliinum,  Alpoua,  Anifii- 
cnii,  Ansinlhiiine,  limivt  VisUi,  liuriil,  Vltirki's 
Fork,  Polovoilo,  Volumliia,  (\>}iiiirmi)ii\  Co- 
iiuitlf.  Deer  Lml/ie,  Dis  Chutes,  Dniiner,  TJes- 
tmrtion,  Frasrr,  Grien,  Huro,  Jlcll  Giitf, 
J ' umlmldt ,  Illinois,  ,Iumii-off-Jiii',  Muckemif, 
M'lrn's,  McClouil  or  Mcf.eoU,  Mis.iissip)}!,  .l/i,«- 
inuri,  Mii'<s<'tsliell,  Kini/s,  of  Ihr  West,  0<i<len's, 
Oregon,  I^louse,  I'urmfntier.  I'enre,  Pcnd  <l' 
Oreille,  Platte,  tied.  Rogue,  Sun  Rof/iie,  Saii- 
liiim,S<isknteli(tn'an,Smike,  Spokone,  The(i<i)io, 
Touvhet,  rrmjiQUd,  Wallii  W'llla,  White,  Wil- 
liiinetle.  Wind,  Yakiiuii,  Villinvstone. 

Rivers  Inlet,  121. 

Robbins-Natlianlel,  :]:<»,  .■ni-(  >.  I'.,  :!7I. 

Robertson,  Capt.,  t:l4. 

Robie,  .\.  11.,  Indian  .\gent,  I")!!.  102. 

Robin's  Nest,  2:«. 

Robinson,  ,1.,  .104. 

Rocky  Mountains,  (i(),(l!l,  70,  71,  l:ll-l''ur  Co.,  Mil 

to2!K). 

Rogers— A.  !•',,  ;ii;t— tlornellus,  211— Lewis,  :iO|. 
Rogue   River,  .•)0,  lim,. 1:17,  IIW,   i:li(,  118  to  410— In- 
dians, WMi,  :»7,  :«0,  ;»l  to  .itiO,  .'Ui7  to  :177,  .•ltt4  to 


-Wushing- 


lO.i.  4:«l<i  no— .Massacre  in  IS.)."),  22(i-l.S.")'),  Uri 
lo.i7()-\'alley,  3)7. 

Ronqulllo,  Straits  of,  12. 

Rosario— Canal  del.  See  Quifof  Geomia— Straits, 
Hi. 

Roseburg,  347. 

Rose  and  Harding  killed,  Ml. 

Ross,  (4en.  .lohn  K.,  312,  314,  :).3!l,  3.")ll  to  3,10, 37S,  301). 

Rush,  Richard,  .American  Commissioner,  181. 

Russell-Capt.n.,4(il-()sborn,277,281,28."),287,;«)l. 

Russian— America.  See  ^/nvta— .Vmerlcan  Trad- 
ing Co  ,  03— i;ialm  to  .Maska,  lS;i-K.\i)lora- 
tloiis, .')!)  to  ()2,  03. 

Ryan,  William,  .304. 

Ryswick,  T"?aty  of,  (i.'). 


Sacred  Heart  Mission, .)().). 

Satlarans,  Dr.  11.,  31.!. 

Saliaplln  River.     See  Snake. 

Salem,  20.1,  2.")0,  2.')l.  31.")  to  3")!. 

Salmon  Fishing,  201. 

Saltees,  Coeur  d'  Alene  Chief,  471. 

Salt  Lake,  Great,  07,  101. 

Sam,  Rogue  River  Chief, .•V')7  to  :)()'•,  1)1. 

San  Hernardlno  Island,  2"). 

Sun  CV(W».«,  Spanish  vessel.  (>."),  70,  102  to   101,111. 

Sand  Hollows,  Rattle  of,  31 1. 

San  Diego,  47,  ")1. 

Sand  Island,  340. 

Sandwich  Islands.    See  Jfairuiitin. 

San  Francisco  Ray  and  City,  .10,  17,  18,  01,  S3,  201, 

.3311,  .3;)3. 
San  .Tiiclnto,  Mount,  s'>. 
San  .Tuaii  .\rchlpelago.  111. 
San  Lorenzo.    See  Noolkti. 
San  Luciis,  Cape,  21. 
San  liiientln,  17. 

Si,in  Roi|Ue,  Cape,  .^l      .S'rc  J/iimvck. 
Han  Sebastian,  Cap''.  18. 
Santa  Cruz— Lowe^r  California,  III.  21 

Ion.     See  Xeir  Punginess. 
Santa  Rosalia,  Mount.'    iVec  Olympus. 
S mill  Salurnlnii,  .Spanish  vessel.  111. 
Snntiiigo,  Spanish  ves.sel,  78,  70. 
Saskatchewan  River,  07,  70,  71,  131. 
Satas  Creek,  42!l. 
Satton,  ('.,  2S0. 
Sauvles  Island,  130,  2ir,. 
Savage,  M.  L.,3C1. 
Schlellclin,  Clinton.  371. 
Sciiumagim  Islands,  ss. 
Scott— .lohn,  284.  20.S— (  apt.  L<'Vl,  281,  2ilS,  :)03,  3.")0, 

;).");")— River,  -m. 
Scottsburg.  3.37,  377. 
Scurvy,  Ravages  of  the,  21,  20.  17,  48,  10,  .").S,  78,  01, 

07. 
Sea.  See  Ilehring,  Onies,  IV'irlU,  South,  Vermilion. 
Sea  Otter.  lOngllsh  vessel,  0(1. 
Seal  lie,  120,427. 
Secretary  of  Oregon,  282,  2S."), 

—  Washington,  .343. 
Selkirk  Settlement,  170. 
Semmes,  Lletil  ,  I'.  S.  N.,  400. 
Semple,  Speech  of  Gen.,  2(>2. 
Senators,  I  iilted  stales,  3.')1. 
Sentinel,  ,Iacksonvllle,  372,  13.'). 
Serra,  Father  .lunlpero,  01. 

.Sett liTS  and  the  Hudson's  Day  ( ■i>.,227  to  230, 234 

237  to  2.!!l.  211,217. 
shadden,  Thos.  ,1..  210  to  2'jl. 
Shannon— Davis,  3")!), .).").")- W.,  .■!.3.!. 
Shark,  \'.  S.  Si'liooncr,  wrecked,  .300. 
.Shasta— Hutle  City.    .SVc  I'rcte- Mount 
Shalt  uck,.ludgc  !•:.  D. ,  .•!.")0,  .I.-)."). 
Shaw— A.  '.'.  R.,  2s|-Col.  II.  F.,284,  421,  4 

—  Dr.,  410- .losluia,  281— Thomas  C, 
—Washington,  2S|— Cai)t 

ShefHeld,  Capt.,  111. 

shelton,  Isaac,  Killed  by  Indians 

shepard,  ( 'y rus,  208.  210,  217. 

Sheridan,  Lieut.,  Philip  H.,  107,  l.")l  to  4"v). 

sherlll',  Capt.,  Kngllsh  Conimlsslonor,  1(17 

Shields,  ,Iames,  .Wl,  iVh't. 

Shilling  Mountains.    See  Rocky, 

ship.     See  I'essi  I. 

Shlvdy,  .1.  M.,  First  lostmusler,  .!l!l,  321. 

Shoalwater— Hay.  120— Cape,  110, 


i2S,  3.!.'),  311,31.'),  3")! 


,  200. 

.")7  to  4(17 
281,  313 
William,  281,  31 1. 


X I V 


msTOKY   OK  OUKGON. 


il 


Sv(<  Pitcijic 

■>'~.  ••ilO,  .■!1-.', 
■.     See  Ex- 


Short,  R.  v.,  .'ai,  :W. 

ShortesB,  Robert,  2.12,  2J't,  2iV!,  '^A,  'iTJlS,  277. 
ShoHhone  Indians,  140. 
Show-ah-wiiy,  Yakima  (^hlef,  .'iW. 
Shrum,  NIcliolas,  .TjO,  3Vj. 

HIgnature.s  of  Delegiiles  to  ronstltutional  Con- 
vention, Xtl. 
81mcoe  Vallpy,  .W-'. 
Simmons— tJporgf,  27li.  2S(i— Michael  T.,  2S4,  2-(."), 

■m. 

Simpson,  Sir  (Jeorge,  2.'7,  247,  2li:!. 

Sinclair,  .lames,  H.  H.  Co.  Agent,  cm,  4IH,  V*y 

Siskiyou  Mountain,  l!Hi. 

Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  2H1. 

.Skinner,  Alonzo  A.,  Indian  Agent,  2K.'>,  ^f-'.s,  :i.)S, 
;U4. 

Slnngliler,  I.leut.  \V.  A  .  .1X7, 42.-.. 

slavery— In  America,  111— In  Oregon,  :i'2li,  M.'l,  .'Jl  K 

Slocum,  I, lout.  Wni.  A.,  2.i(l. 

.smallpox  among  the  lilackfeet,  oiix. 

Smith-Rev.  A.  1!..  214  to  21li,  2')7,  2.V,  2;7-Ca|>t. 
A.  ,1..  :t.->S,  :il(i),  :«W,  :!71,  .■!)!!,  4(12.  434,  a\  III.  44:i 
to  4 Hi,  47()— Ucluzon,  :!">»  to  ;!-V)-(i.  ]{..  .W.!— 
Isaac  W.,  27(i.  2S(>— .ledcdiah  s.,  Trapping 
Kxpeditlon  of.  1!I2  to  210— Noyes,  '.W,  ^S.")- 
Robert.  270,  2iH— Shlney,  2.I2.  240,  277.  2)S0- 
Slmeon.  2.S0— Thomas,  \V):i-\  Pioneer  of  lHt2, 
2:)2.  2j:i. 

Smith's  Inlet.  121. 

Snake,  River,  13li— Indians,  1 10,  .101  to  .iOI,  l.'^S— 
Massacre,  .101— Mission,  2.'L'. 

Silkier,  Dr.  K.,  :!i:i. 

Snook,  .I..S.,  2H4,:tiil.  .IM. 

Sonofd,  .Spanish  vessel,  70  lo  Si. 

Hound,  tivc  Utrchni,  Xoalku,  /'on.vevv/oji,  Prince 
William,  I'liqit,  Queen  Cluirlalte,  ,S7.  George's. 

.South  Pass,  101, 

South  Sea,   l!i,  2-1,  :il,  :!7.  .V),  01,  .S4,  01. 
f^'p'oi— f!oinpany.  04. 

Southern  Kmlgrant  Koute.  2!IS,  :;02 

Spalding,  Rev.  Henry   H.,  212,  20->, 

Spanish— Armada,  .12— CoiKiuests,  I' 

ploratinna. 
Spokane— Fort,  101,  lOi— Indiims,  101,  121,  4.")0,  4.')8 

474— .Mission,  214. 
Sportsman,  William,  2!is. 
Spotted  Eagle,  Nez  Perce  Chlel',  4.'>.s. 
St.  Charles  City,  :!XV 
St.  Clare,  VV.,  .'loi. 
.St.  Elias,  Mfiunt,  ■")S,  .S7,  01. 
.St.  Kraneis  /avler.  Chapel  of,  :!00. 
St.  George's  Sound.    Nee  Xnnthi. 
St.  Helens  -.Mount,  I20-To\vn  of,  •'!!:!. 
St.  Ignatius  Mission,  .'KK). 
St.  .lohn's  Church,  Oregon  City.  .100. 
St.  r.ouls.  Founded,  f»i— Fort,  ISO. 
St.  Mary's  Mission,  'iOO. 

St.  J'riul  and  St.  /V<?r,  Russian  vessels,  .J7  to    ■")0. 
St.  Pauls  Ml.ssion.  2:i4,  HOO. 
staats,  Stephen,  '2->o. 
SlarUweuther,  \Vm.  .\.,  :!."iO,  "..yi . 
Stat*— Capital.    Nee  Ciiiiilal— House,  2."il, 

347— Kfforts  to  Create.  .'142  to  .•i.")2. 
Stutesman.  :i.V>,  3;i«,  'Mi,  310,  317,  3H.'),.i01,  431, 
Steamer,  P'Irst  built  In  Oregon,  .330. 
Steele,  Judge  Elijah, :««, 
Stellacoom,  Fort,  387,  4'2.'),  420. 
Hteptoe,  Col.  E.  ,1.,  4.")0,  4.")2,  IM.  103  to    lo; 

473. 
Stevens,  Gov.  Isaac!.,  ,343,  3H0  to  .is;l,  1(10  to  41'2, 

423  to  427,  4r>()  to  4.'>S,  41m  to  187. 
Stewart— Lieut.  A.  ».,  4.-).3— Capt.  V.  S.  A.,3:W-P. 

G.,  '270,  '281,  287— Camp,  3,lt,  .Th.    Nee  Drum- 

mond. 
Stlck-us.  Cayuse  Chief,  274,  286,  3o7. 
Stock  Whitley,  Des  Chutes  Chief,  l2o,  400, 
Stony  Mountains.    See  Rnekii, 
Straight,  Hiram  A.,  '270,  284,  im,  3iK). 
Straits.     See  Aninn,   Behrinf/'s,  Cnrlerenl,  Ilarii, 

John  stone'. s,  Juan  tie  h'uen,  Lrihnitlnr,  Maijel- 

lan,  lionqnillo,  timario. 
stratton,  U.  K.,  3'il. 

Strong,  ('apt.  and  .ludge  Wllliani,  :i.s,"),  W). 
Stuart,  David  and  Robert,  I.")l,  l.)7.  101,  104. 
Sublette,  Milton  and  Wllliani,  103,  '201. 
Supremo  Court.    See  .hirigex. 
.SnriV,  Spanl.sh  vessel.  117,  123. 


■28:!. 


470  *o 


Suttei-Capt.  .lohn  A.,  21 1,  .181- Fort,  .320,  ;WI,  401), 
Swallow  Hall.    See  War  Kagle. 
Swartwout,  ('apt.  r.  S.  N.,4'27,  408. 
Switzer,  Lieut.,  C.  S.  A..408. 
Syracuse,  Town  of,  3:1.3. 


Table  Rock,  :t;)8,  :i,M  to  300,  374. 

Taeoutchee  Tasse  River.    See  Fraser 

Ta-ma-has,  murderer  of  Dr.  Whitman,  318. 

Tam-su-ky,  Cayuse  Chief,  300  to  318. 

Taylor,  B.,  314-Fort,  473-.rames,  328,  ;i.tl— Capt. 

( ).  H.  P.,  471,  474— President  Zachary,  .Til. 
Tchlrlkof,  Alexel,  .')7. 
Tejada  (Texada)  Island,  114,  1'23. 
Telohn  Pass, '201. 
Telegraph  Lines  Kullt.  347. 
Tenas  'I  vee.  Rogue  River  Chief,  :iO.'i. 
Territorial  Period,  :«2  to  :Vil. 
Terrv.  Chester  N.,  .'Wl,  %-tlV,. 
The   Dalles,  lO.-)  to  41:1,  421,  4'27.  430,  4:t7— Indians. 

237,  -iiO,  .382— Mission,  217.  'I'-ii,  .307),  .307. 
Thegayo  River,  07.     See  Cnlumlilii. 
Tliompson— David,    a    Fur    Trader,    l.Ki— Capt. 

Cliaries,  :M0— Capt.  Piiillp  F,,  314  to  317. 
Thorn,  Capt.  .lonathan,  I.'ii,  i.'):t. 
Tiiornlon,  .1.  (^ulnn,  207,  320  to;!28. 
Thorp,  Major,  282. 
Thurston— County,  .'il7— Samuel  R.,  'i:!!,  2:m,  .302, 

304,  :i'i7,  :!31.  :i37. 
Tlbbetts,  Calvin,  2:!fl,  277. 
Tillamook,  Cape,  100,  101— Counly,  :U4— Indians, 

:i02. 
Times,  Newspaper,  :!:i7. 
Timothy,  Ne/,  Perce  chief,  471  to  17:1. 
Tipsu  Tyee,  Rogue  River  Chief.  :i«l,  .3(i0. 
Tolmie,  W.  F.,  :!00. 
Tom  Hill,  '238,3(10. 

Tonnuin,  Voyage  and  Destruction  of,  l.'iO  to  l.'>0. 
Touchet-Rattle  of,  310,  4lli— River,  111,  310,370, 

413,  410. 
•i'ownseiid,  Port.  12:!,  34:!. 
Trappers.     See  Fnr  Onmpanies. 
Traveller,  V .  S.  Steamer,  400. 
Traveling  Nursery  of  1817,301. 
Treasurer  of  Oregon,  2")7,  2Sl,  282,  '28i'>,  .328.  :r>l. 
Treatles-Ashburton,   '204,   '270— with    England, 

l:i2.  104,  Ili8,  I.V"),  201,  270,  2-2!),  203,200— otGlienI, 

101— of  .Joint  occupation  of  Oregon,  198,  lH.i, 

•2112,  203— of  .Madrid,    1'28— of  Nootka,  111- of 

Ryswick,  111-with  Spain  In  1818,  'Jt'.     See 

Indiana. 
Trevllt,  Vlo.,:l.8(i. 
Trinidad  Hay,  48,  70. 
Tshimikain  Mission,  214,  :I06. 
Tualatin— District,  281— Plains,  210.  :102. 
I'ufts.  .Attacked  by  Indians,  :!74. 
Tukannon  River,  1:17,  :W0. 
Tuie  Lake,  :«0, 
Turn  water,  .'143. 
Turner  John,  2'20,2.'1(),  277. 
Turpin,  William,  301. 
•I'Vault,  W.  G.,  •28.->,  288,  :)0!l,  :l:!o. 
Tygh  Valley,  4011. 
Tyler,  President  .lohn,  '272,  20.3. 

|i 

Ulloa,  Francisco  de.  Voyage  of,  21. 

rniatilla— Agency.  :M1— Indians.  :1S1,  410,  4-20,  IfiO, 
4i«)— .Mission.  108.  110- Reservation,  '181,  410, 
411-River,  i:!0,  ir>0,  .'CT,  411. 

rm-howlisli,  Cayuse  (.'hief,  307,  30O,  .'170. 

rmp(|ua--Fort,'20l-Indlans,  104  to  100,  401  — Mas- 
sacre, nil  to  100— River,  40  to  .">!,  101,  ;l;47— Val- 
ley, .3:^7. 

t'nlversity  of  Oregon,  :14.'). 

ITnited  States-  Attorney,  :i;l-"i,  :141,  :il.'>— Marshal, 
327,  3.-)5,344. 

Utilla.    See  Umatilla. 

V 

Vuidez,  Cayetano,  Voyage  of,  118,  12:1. 

Vanconver-(;'atliolicChiirch,:iOO— District,  '288— 
Fort,  1'20,  177.,  17(i,  -200,  212,  217,  '228,  230,  421,  122, 
lir.-lBland,78,  108,  121,  I21,  I.*3-To\vn,  4(H- 
Voyage  of,  11'2.  118  to  128, 

Vannoy's  Ferry,  308,  4.3.5. 

Van  .Scliouten,  Voyage  of,  .'53. 


«KNKI!AL   INDK.X. 


XV 


Vaslion  Island,  12:!. 

Velaspo  I/ake,  I.!. 

Verondryps.  Kxplorationsof,  ll!i  to  71. 

Vi'i-Milhon  Hen,  "i-l. 

Vessel,  First  Hiilll-«n  raclHc  (,'oast,  21,  !W,  100. 
IJI.  157— on  Columbia  Klver.  iri7. 

Viscalno,  Sebastian,  Voyage  of,  1"). 

Volunteers.  2X1),  .■J12.  :!M,  .'W,  atl,  .•i7(l,  ■i7N,  :!,S8  to  477. 

Voy«i?e.  Srv  Afiuilur,  Arteaga,  Aynln,  Jtaffl'^- 
Harclati,  Behriiu/.  Bi'iiynintky,  Jtlilille,  Hn- 
(lesin  y  Quadm,  IIUMlitiimnte,  Catimano,  <V(- 
brillo,  Onetiilixh,  Oilnelt,  Ourtrrftil ,  C'urmii, 
Jhltis,  DiTiiii,  Drake,  Elimi,  Ferirlo  Fniitf, 
Film,  Giiliaiiii,  flamit,  Oriiy,  J  faro,  I/eiiln 
Jfiiilsim,  Kindrirk,  J,'i  I'croiiw,  Lrmairi',  Miil- 
itnniido,  Mnrlinez,  Maurille,  Mmies,  I'frfz, 
/'tirllork,  Qiiimjtrj-,  Tchirik  itf,  Vllnii,  Vnlih-z, 
\'<i)icoiii<'i\  \'(in  Sriiiiiiti'ii,  i'i.sidiiii).  .SVi-  AV- 
imlitioii  iinil  .lininirfi. 

Voya^eurs,  171. 

W 

Waifuer,  .1.  U.,  Xli  to  :t7li. 

Wiiaons  to  I  Hi.'%im,  2i:i.  2.T).  21(1.  2IS,  272,  274. 

Walllalpu  .Mission,  2l:i,  2')«,  ms  to  -ilH,  .'CT,  110. 
.SVy-  Wliilmnn. 

Walr,  J.  \V.,  Jill.). 

Walt-JudKe  A.  K.,  .i.".!— Lieut.,  4">!»  to  4111. 

Walauiet  Cattle  Co.,  211.    Sec  Wlllmnvtle 

Waldo.  Daniel.  l>avid  and  William,  rii,  •Jn2. 

M'alker-Courlney  M.,  -liiS,  277.  2-t2  2,Sii-Uev.  KI- 
kanali,  211.  2lfc'>,  277— (.'apt  .Jesse,  :llil— .loseph. 
Trapping  K.xpedlllon  ol,  202  -a  Vlcllm  ol 
Indians,  3S7. 

Walker's  I'ass,  200  to  2112. 

Wallaeo  Prairie.  2-il. 

"Wallen,  (apt.,  414. 

Walla Wallu-llattle  or.  111  to  122-Canip,  120.121, 
427,  44S.  4.''><l,  4ti2  to  107— Counell  at.  .ihO  to  Xfi, 
4K:i  to  407— Fori,  202,  21  0,  212,  2110  to  20S.  2!i,s,  :i07, 
.•111,4011,  428.  470— Indlaii-s,  l.SO,  lliO,  :«1,  400  to 
4;i2,  4,-)S,  400,40(1.  l74-.Mllltary  I'ost,  470— Klver, 
1.1H,2<KI,  .'WO,  417. 

Waller,  Hev.  A.  V;.  220,  2:12.  2")«,  277. 

Waning,  Gabriel  and  .1.  II.,  -m. 

Wallula.    Hev  Wallii  WiiIIk  Foil. 

Wapatoo  I.sland      See  Saiiiii.i. 

War  Bet»'een  Hudson'.s  Hay  Co.  and  Northwest 
Co  ,  170.     See  Iniliiin  Wars. 

War  Kagle,  Cayuse  ('l)lel',  .tl") 

Warrewer,  Thomas,  2M4. 

Waseo— County,  H44— J^teanier,  -ISS,  418  to  452. 

Wa80O()uni  Indians.    See  The  ludlex. 

Washington— County,  .'i.i:l— Kort,  11(1— Territory, 
:M2to:W4. 

Waterman,  .lohn  OrvLs,  3).">. 

Waters— David,  i!14— Col.  .lames,  278,  'il-i  to. 117 

Watklns,  W.  H  , :«!,  ifiS. 

Watt,  .Joseph,  284. 

Watts,  John  W.,  .150,  :V)5. 

Wayralre.  Frederick  and  .John,  2S8,  .V>0,  :l.V(, 

Webster,  Daniel,  204,  271,  272,  20.1,  21K1. 

Well  Springs,  Hattle  of,  311. 

West,  Ulver  of  the,  tj7.    See  Columbia. 

Western  Star, ;»"). 


Weston,  David,  :il  I. 

Wheat  made  Legal  Tender,  288. 

Wheeler,  I, lent.  .James,  471. 

Whldby  Island,  121,  :10<I. 

WhIteomb-.J.  I,.,  240— Lot,  .iT),  .'{.111. 

White— Dr.  Klljali,  210,  217,  2.52,  2.53,  2.5S.  277,  2S7— 

.James, . mi-.J oh n  S.,  :i.")0,  .Hl-S.  S.,:!O.S-Klver, 

425,  420. 
Whlteaker,  .John,  .Til. 
While  Stallion  Itlver.     See  Toiuhel , 
Whitman— I>r.  .Marcus,  210  to  221,  2:il,2.rr,2;t8,217, 

2til)  to  275,  277,  .121— andlmmigration  of  181.1, 

247,200  to  2r5,  .'too— .Vlassncre,  UtS,  .•105  to  .'118. 

:!21  to. '12:t-- Mission.  .SVc  lfrti(V'»/y)«-l'urehases 

Tlie  iMlles  Mission, *l.5  -|>.  H.,  :t07. 
Whitney,  .Jones  K.,  .'t7!i. 
Whltted,  Thomas,  :V>0,  :152'». 
Whiltnn,  .\nierloan  vessel,  .'121. 
Wilbur,  Captain,  4  10. 
Wilcox.  I)r.  Italph,  2S0.  .lO.'!,  :i01. 
Wiley..!.  \V.,.'ii:i. 
Wilkes,  C<iinmodore  Charles,  211. 
Wllklns,  Caleb,  210. 
Wilkinson,  Capt,  W.  A.,  :«(8,  411. 
Willamette— Comity,  .115— Falls,  '227. '2:1:).  2:W,  240, 

251,  28(1,  2<:i-l{l  ver.  l.'lr- Valley,  22il,  •2:iO. 
Williams— I'loneer  of  18:17,  210,  2411— Fort,  2i).'i— 

I.ieut.,  4.5(1  to  4'i:!— Judge  Oeorge  n.,Mi,  X*), 

.'!.V>— J.  V..,  '281.  %*\-  Capt.  M.  M.,  41.5,  4.10— Col. 

Kohert  1...  :15l  to  :ttiO,  3!)(i,  .';n8.  4:B  to  44(1. 
Wilkln.son— Caiit.,:!!i8,  4(0— Oeorge,  2:12. 
Wlllson,  William   II..  257.  '277,  '280,  .'W. 
Wilson-  A.   V..,  -2.57,  '277,  '282.  .'til— A.  F.,  .'Wl.  :i85- 

Cnpt.  .\.  v..  411,  417  to  420,  4:10- John,  301. 
Wind  Hlver,  70. 

Win  Im  snoot,  Cuyuse  Chief,  400. 
Winnipeg,  City.  Fort,  Lake  and  Klver,  (ill,  170, 

171. 
Winslilp's  Settlement  on  the  Columbia,  14.5. 
Wolf  Meeting,  251. 
Wood.  I'loneer  of  18:17,  2:10. 
^Voods.  Lake  of  the,  (19.  70. 
Woodworth,  John.  2'20. 
Wool.  (Jen.  John  E., :!(«.  :!IW,  .300.  .372,  :i82,  :189,  390, 

411,  412,  421  to  421.  425,  4:1.5,  440,  1(17. 
W  right— (apt.  Kenlamln.  232,  .'130,  4.38,  4:}!>— Col. 

George,  426,  447  to  4:50,  4(1:1  to  409,  473  to  475. 
Wyeth,  Nathaniel  .1.,  Knterprlses  of,  197, '202  to 

2O0.  213.  220. 


Vaklma-  Indhms.  :wi,  :IS1  to  :i!ll,  4II7.  108,  410,  429, 
118  to  151,  45S,  4(10.  470,  474— .Mission,  .508- 
Klver,  407,  l'28. 

Yamhill— District,  280— Settlement,  '2111. 

Vantis,  Judge,  .'18.5. 

Vellept.  Walla  Walla  Chief,  l;l!i. 

Yellow  Bird.    See  Pen-fien-mox-nior. 

Yellowstone  Klver,  70,  I'lO,  14'2. 

Yelni  Prairie,  4'2(!. 

■yerba  Buena,  0.5,  201.     See  San  Francisrn. 

You-ma-lolam.    See  T'liintuia. 

Voung-Kwlng,  '201,  •2'20,  '2:10,  212,  214-Licut.,  U.  S. 
N.,  4«S. 

Yreko,;i:J7,  ;«9. 


CHAPTER  I. 


AMERICA  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTUKY. 


Spain's  Foothold  in  the  New  World— The  Aye  of  Romance  and  Adve)b- 
ture — The  Method  and  Successive  Stages  of  €  on  <j  nest— Discovery  of 
the  South  Sea,  or  Pacific  Ocean,  by  Balboa  and  Magellan — Conquest 
of  Mexico  and  Peru — First  Attempt  to  Colonhe  the  Peninsula  of 
California — E forts  of  Portugal,  England  and  France. 


DURING  the  iifty  years  immediately  following  the  discovery  of 
America,  Spain  gained  a  fii'm  and  lasting  foothold  in  the 
New  World.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  those  Christian  rulers  who 
sat  upon  the  united  throne  of  Castile  and  Aragoii,  and  freed  their 
kingdom  from  the  invading  Moors,  and  redeemed  it  from  the  faith 
of  Islam,  and  under  whose  patronage  Colinulius  sailed  upon  that 
voyage  which  revealed  to  an  astonished  world  a  new  continent  and 
a  vast  unknown  ocean,  were  succeeded  in  power  by  the  mighty 
Charles  V.  Under  the  reign  of  this  enlightened  monarch,  the  most 
powerful,  wise  and  enterprising  ruler  that  ever  sat  u[)on  the  throne 
of  Spain,  that  nation  approached  the  zenith  of  its  power,  wealth 
and  importance  in  the  political  affairs  of  Eiu'ope,  This  slu;  reached 
and  passed  during  the  reign  of  his  son  and  successor,  the  haughty 
Philip,  whose  power  and  magnificence  was  supported  chiefly  from 
the  endless  stream  of  treasure  which  flowed  into  the  ki»'gdom  from 
conquered  provinces  in  the  New  World,  or  from  th(^  commerce  of 
the  East.  There  existed  no  rival  to  share  with  her  the  riches  of  the 
long-sought  Indies,  save  ambitious  little  Portugal,  who  had  early 
gained  a  footing  there  and  established  a  considerable  commerce  by 
the  long  and  tedious  route  around  the  southern  extremity  of  Afiica. 


18 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


While  other  iiiitions  confined  themselves  to  oecasional  voyages 
of  explor.'ition  Jind  spasmodic  efforts  jit  [)lanting  feeble  colonies, 
S[).'iin  was  pursuing  a  vigorous  policy  of  coni[uest  and  colonization. 
That  was  the  halcyon  age  of  I'omance  and  adventure,  anil  Spain  led 
the  van.  The  whole  nation  seemed  imbued  with  a  spirit  of  con- 
([uest.  Imagination  and  romance  peopled  this  vast  unknown  land 
witii  nati(ms  of  strange  civilization  and  amazing  wealth;  made  it 
the  re|)ository  of  gold,  pearls  and  precious  gems  in  such  fabulous 
tjuantity  that  the  greatest  riches  of  the  known  world  seemed  but 
the  veriest  dross  in  compariscm;  gave  into  its  keeping  the  mystical 
fountain  of  youth;  endowed  it  with  all  the  beauties  and  wonders  of 
earth,  aii-  and  water  the  mind  could  conceive,  and  even  located 
within  its  confines  the  Terrestrial  Paradise  from  whose  ^ates  the 
angel  of  the  Almighty  had  driven  the  great  progenitors  of  mankind 
with  a  flaming  sword  of  tire.  Beyond  this  was  the  great  South 
Sea,  with  its  thousands  of  islands — a  region  romance  had  tilled 
with  nations  of  Amazons  and  enriched  with  gold  and  pearls;  while 
still  further  was  the  Indies  with  its  known  treasures  of  silk  and 
porcelain;  the  magnificent  Cathay,  that  land  of  great  cities  and 
hoarded  wealth,  of  which  Marco  Polo  had  written;  and  the  marvel- 
lous Island  of  Cipang(t,  whose  treasures  were  ready  to  fall  into  the 
lap  of  him  who  was  bold  enough  to  seek  them. 

Stimulated  by  avarice,  love  of  adventure  and  a  religious  zeal 
which  often  ap[)roached  fanaticism,  many  of  the  nobles  of  Spain 
eml)arked  upon  expi^ditions  of  ex[)loration  and  concpiest,  accom- 
panied by  bands  of  e(|ually  avaricious,  adventuresome  and  fanatic 
soldiers,  whose  reward  for  their  services  consisted  chiefly  of  the 
])lunder  obtained  in  their  bloody  campaigns.  Such  expeditions 
wei'e  fostered  and  encouraged  ])y  the  Spanish  monarch,  who  saw  in 
them  a  means  of  extending  his  power  and  dominions,  and  filling  his 
treasury  with  the  su[)posed  wealth  of  the  New  World.  Whoever 
discovered  and  conc^uered  a  new  country  in  the  name  of  the  king 
was  connnissioned  governor,  or  viceroy,  of  the  subdued  region,  and 
granted  all  riches  he  might  thus  acipiire,  save  only  that  which  was 
to  be  the  portion  of  the  crown.  In  this  way  America  was  invaded 
from  Florida  to  Chili. 

Briefly  summarized,  the  successive  steps  by  which  Spain  grasped 


AMERICA  IN  THE  SIXTEKNTII  CKNTI'UY. 


19 


the  richest  portions  of  the  New  World  were  as  follows:  In  1495, 
only  thre<3  years  after  the  nieniora1>le  voyage  of  (\)lmiil>us,  the 
Island  of  Hayti  was  con([iiered  and  named  "  Nuevo  Ilispanola," 
a  name  afterwanls  transferred  to  Mexico.  Mere  work  was  hetjun 
in  the  mines,  the  natives  bein^  enslaved  to  perfoi-in  the  laltor. 
These  being  found  physically  unable  to  endure  the  hardships 
imposed  upon  them,  negroes  were  im[)orted  from  (ruinea  for  that 
purpose,  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  Afriean  slavery,  \vhich  the 
civilization  of  the  nineteenth  ccmtury  has  not  yet  been  abh'  fully  to 
abolish.  In  loll  the  Island  of  Cuba  was  invad<(l  by  HOO  men,  and 
conquered  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  S2>ain.  In  l.")].'}  \'aseo 
Nunez  de  Balboa  crossed  the  Isthnuis  of  Darlen  and  disci )\('red  the 
great  South  Sea,  of  Avhich  the  natives  had  scj  contidently  spoken 
that  it  had  already  found  a  place  on  the  maps  of  European  geogra- 
phers. Seven  years  lat(;r  the  great  Magellan  entercHl  it  through  the 
straits  that  bear  his  name,  and  christened  it  "  Pacitic."  In  1519 
Cortes  landed  in  Mexico,  and  with  an  army  of  950  soldiers  and  a 
ffreat  cloud  of  Indian  auxiliai'ies  invaded  the  ancient  kintcdom  of 
the  Montezumas.  In  two  years  he  completely  subjugated  the 
country,  his  progress  l^eing  marked  by  the  blood  of  the  Aztecs 
poured  out  like  water  in  the  defense.  Ten  years  later  the  cruel 
Pizarro,  whose  only  object  was  coniiuest  and  plunder,  entered  Peru 
with  a  thousand  men,  subdued  the  country  and  plundered  the  king- 
dom of  the  Incas  of  its  treasures  of  gold  and  silver.  In  1585  Men- 
doza  entered  Buenos  Ayres  at  the  head  of  2,000  men  and  subjugated 
the  country  as  far  as  Potosi,  whose  famous  mines  of  sib/er  were 
discovered  nine  years  later.  In  1537,  Cortes,  seeking  funher  con- 
(piests  to  the  westward  of  Mexico,  landed  at  Santa  Cruz,  near  the 
lower  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  California,  but  finding  neither 
wealth  nor  civilized  nations,  and  l)eing  una})le  to  subsist  his  force 
in  such  a  barren  land,  soon  abandoned  his  effort  at  colonization  and 
returned  to  Mexico.  In  1541,  Chili  was  conquered  l)y  the  restless 
adventurers  of  Spain. 

By  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  Spain  had  con(piered 
and  colonized  every  portion  of  America  inhabited  l)y  wealthy  and 
semi-civilized  nations,  and  was  enjoying  a  revenue  of  almost  fabu- 
lous amount  fr(>m  her  provinces  in  the  New  World.  Portugal  alone, 
of  all   her  rivals,  had  accomplished  anything  of  a  similar  nature. 


20 


iriHTOKY  OF  WILLVMETTK  VALLKY, 


having  pliinte*!  a  colony  in  Brazil.  England  and  France  had  suc- 
ceeded sinijdy  in  laying  a  foundation  for  a  claim  of  dominion  in 
North  America,  ))Ut,  unlike  their  enterprising  rival,  received  as  yet 
no  revenue  from  the  New  World.  Sucli  was  the  condition  of  affairs 
when  the  first  efforts  were  made  to  explore  the  coast  of  Oregon. 


\ 


CHAP^J^ER  II. 

THK  FABULOUS  STRAITS  OF  AN  FAN. 

Cortereal  Discovers  the  Straits  of  Lahra<l or- 1 nuM,ines  he  has  passed 
through  Norus  Murulus-Vasoo  de  Garna  reaches  India  by  dUUr^n 
the  Cape  of  (rood  Ilope^^Nam.ing  of  the  Straits  of  Anian  by  Cor- 
tereal     Mage   an's  Discover,,  of  a  Southwest  Passage  Confirms  the 
BeUef  tn  a  Northwest  one-  ^Keplorations  of  Cortes  in  the  Pacific- 
Voyage  of  K  rancisco  de  mioa-Mendo,a  Dispatches  Marcon  and 
Coronado   ..    Search    of  CiI>ola   and    Qairira-  Voyage   of  Juan 
liodyne.  CabrMo-^Ihs  Death-Ferrelo   Continues  the   Voyaae  to 
LMe  J^  or  W     Spain  Abandons  the  Search  for  the  Straits  of 
Anmn  and   Turns  her  Attention  to  the  Indies -Spanish  Con,merce 
Supreme  m  the  Pacific-IIer  Claim  of  Exclusive  Domain-The 
Buccamers,  or  Freebooters  of  the  Spanish  Main,  Inva^le  the  Pacific- 
liraUcal  Voy,ye  of  Sir  Francis  Drake-IIe  Searches  for  the  Straits 
.     of  Anmn— Dispute  among  Ilistorians  as  to  the  Extent  of  his  Vov 
age-Drake  Lands  his  Pilot  in  Oregon- Drake^s  Ba>,  not  the  Bay  of 
San  Francisco     Drake  Takes  Possession  of  Neu,  Albion- Romancis 
ofChaplatn  J^letcher-D rakers  Success  Excites  the  Euudation  of 
oher  Adventurers-Frmcdulent  Claims  of  Discovery  of  a  Northwest 
1  assage-Maldonado^s   Pretended    Voyage  through   the  Straits  of 
Aman-Hts  Memorial  a  Sham. 


THE  immediate  cause  which  led  t(.  the  discovery  and  consequent 
occupation  of  Oregon  was  tlie  long  and  eager  search  for  the 
mythical  Northwest  Passage,  which  continued  for  nearly  three  cen- 
tunes,  and  was  participated  in  by  seven  of  the  leading  nations  of  the 
wor  d  England,  France,  Holland,  Spain,  Pov^ngal,  Russia  and  the 
United  States;  and  since  it  makes  so  consj  .uous  an  object  in  the 
foreground  of  Oregon's  history,  it  is  worthy  an  extended  descrip- 
tion.  ^ 


'>'> 


1IIST(H;Y  ok  WIM-AMKTTK  vam.ky. 


One  of  the  most  noted  of  the  many  exph)rers  attracted  to  the 
New  Woi'hl  l)y  the  great  discovery  of  Colunihus,  was  (iraspar  Cor- 
tereal,  a  Portuguese.  In  the  year  1 500  this  great  navigator  explored 
the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America — then  called  "N(tvusMun- 
dus,"  and  supposed  to  be  a  portion  of  the  continent  of  Asia,  extend- 
ing a  long  distance  to  the  eastward — and  sailing  round  the  coast  of 
La])rador  entered  the  straits  whicli  lie  lu  the  <)Oth  degree  north  lat- 
itude. Through  these  he  passed  into  Hudson's  Bay,  sup])osing  he 
had  no^v  entered  waters  which  communicated  with  the  Indian  ocean. 
Aljsurd  as  this  supposition  is  in  the  light  of  our  present  knowle<lge 
of  the  earth's  surface,  it  was  by  no  means  so  when  the  geograpical 
ideas  and  theories  prevailing  at  that  time  are  considered.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  eight  years  had  not  yet  passed  since  the  voyage 
of  Columlins  had  compelled  the  world  to  accept  the  theory  which  he 
and  a  few  others  had  for  years  been  enthusiastically  advocating — 
that  the  earth  was  round  and  could  be  encompassed  by  traveling 
either  east  or  west.  Though  this  was  now  generally  admitted,  no 
one  had  ever  actually  accomplished  the  journey,  and,  in  consequence, 
the  distance  round  the  globe  was  a  matter  simply  of  conjecture. 
That  it  was  more  than  half  the  distance  it  was  afterwards  found  to 
be,  no  one  at  that  time  imagined  ;  and  this  accounts  for  the  belief 
that  Novus  Mundus  was  a  portion  of  Asia,  of  whose  eastern  coast 
geographers  had  no  knowledge  whatever,  and  for  the  supposition 
of  Cortereal  that  he  liad  passed  through  this  new  land  and  entered 
a  sea  connecting  with  the  Indian  Ocean,  when,  in  fact,  he  was  not 
within  ten  thousand  miles  of  that  great  body  of  water.  Two  years 
])efore.  one  of  these  Portuguese  navigators,  Vasco  de  Gama,  had 
reached  the  Indian  Ocean  by  sailing  eastward  around  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  a  voyage  historians  l>elieve  to  liave  been  frecpiently 
accomplished  in  ancient  days  by  those  venturesome  mariners,  the 
Phienicians;  and  now  Cortereal  believed  that  he  had  found  a  route 
into  the  same  waters  by  passing  around  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  New  World. 

To  the  straits  through  which  he  had  passed  he  gave  the  name 
of  "  Anian,"  and  the  land  to  the  south  of  them  he  called  Labrador, 
and  these  were  variously  indicated  on  the  subset] uent  maps  aa 
"  Straits  of  Anian,"  "  Strait-  of  Cortereal,"  "Straits  of  Labrador," 
"  Land  of  Cortereal,"   f.nd  "  Land  of  Labrador."      The  exact  sig- 


TIIK   KABrLOtIS  STHAITS  OK   AXIAN. 


2M 


as 
sig- 


nificance of  the  won!  "  Aiiiun  "  is  wneruUv  admitted  to  be  iin- 
known,  altlioni>;li  it  lias  l>een  tlie  subject  of  much  dispute.  By  some 
it  was  claimed  to  have  been  derived  fi'om  the  Ja|)anese  Avord  Am', 
meaning  "  l)i'other,"  and  to  have  been  applied  to  these  straits  because 
Cortereal  Itelieved  them  to  separate  Asia  and  Novus  Miinilus,  which 
stood  on  o[)[)(»site  sid^s  in  brotherly  c-on junction ;  but  as  Japan  was 
at  that  time  utterly  unknown — uidess,  indctMl,  it  was  that  wonder- 
ful Island  of  Cipamro,  <>f  whose  fabulous  riches  such  extravagant 
expectations  luid  Ix'en  created,— Cortereal  can  hardly  l)e  assumed 
to  have  been  sufticicntly  familiar  with  the  language  to  employ  it 
in  Ijestowing  names  to  the  exclusion  of  his  native  tongue,  and 
especially  to  the  ignoi'ing<»f  tliat  long  list  of  saints  which  furnislnid 
such  an  inexhaustible  su[)[)ly  of  names  for  the  devout  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  explorers,  lying  as  thick  upon  the  ma[)  of  America  as 
pin  holes  in  an  old  paper  |)attern. 

A  few  years  later  the  ideas  of  geogra))hers  in  regard  to  the  size 
of  the  world  began  to  exj»an<l,  and  with  tlie  discovery  of  the  South 
Sea  all  belief  in  the  proximity  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  Indian  Ocean 
vanished.  In  IcS^O,  Magellan,  another  Poi'tuguese  mariner,  but 
sailing  under  the  flag  of  Spain,  entered  the  South  Sea  through  the 
straits  which  bear  his  name,  and  l)esti>we(l  the  n;ime  "Pacific  "  npon 
it.  The  voyage  was  continued  westward  untd  the  world  had  been 
circunmavigared,  and  an  a])proximate  idea  of  tlie  distance  around 
it  was  thus  gained  by  geogra[>liers.  lielief  was  imiiK^diatcdy  revived 
in  the  Straits  of  Anian.  It  was  then  supjiosed  that  CortereaPs 
passage  led  from  tlie  Atlantic  into  the  South  Sea,  of  whose  immen- 
sity tlie  world  had  become  dee[)ly  imjiressed,  since  Magcdlaii  had 
traversed  it  in  its  l»roadest  part.  If  the  Noith  American  continent 
narrowed  northward  as  South  America  had  been  found  to  do  in  the 
opposite  direction,  then  it  must  l)e  Imt  a  short  illstance  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  in  the  region  of  Labrador;  and  since  a  pas- 
sage had  been  found  through  the  land  to  the  south — for  in  their 
ignoranceof  th.-  open  sea  ])elow  South  America,  geographers  believed 
Magellan's  Straits  to  lie  simply  a  narrow  waterway  piercing  the 
heart  of  the  continent  where  it  was  much  narrower  than  elsewhere — 
it  was  reasonable  to  sujipose  that  a  similar  one  existed  to  the  north, 
especially  since  Cortereal  had  reported  finding  it.  To  discover  this 
northwest  passage  was  the  desire  of  explorers  for  many  yeai's  there- 


24 


IIISTOliY  OK  WILLAMETTK   VALLEY. 


after.  England,  France  and  Portugal,  and  Holland  in  later  years, 
Honght  it  in  the  Atlantic,  while  Spain  put  forth  her  efforts  to  attain 
the  same  object  in  the  Pacific.  To  the  efforts  made  in  the  latter 
direction  this  narrative  will  be  chiefly  confined,  since  to  them  is  due 
the  discovery  of  Oregon  and  the  complete  exploration  of  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

When  (/ortez  had  sul)jugated  Mexico  he  at  once  began  con- 
structing vessels  on  the  western  coast  of  Central  America  for  service 
in  the  Pacific.  He  possessed  a  roving  commission  from  his  sover- 
eign, the  poweiful  Charles  V.,  which  granted  him  almost  despotic 
powers  as  a  ruler  "  all  new  countries  he  might  discover  and  sub- 
due in  the  name  of  the  king,  the  concpiests  to  be  made  at  his  own 
expense  and  risk,  and  the  expeditions  to  be  fitted  out  from  his  own 
resources.  To  foHow  his  movements  in  detail  is  unnecessary.  They 
resulted  in  the  discovery  and  temporary  colonization  of  Lower  Cal- 
ifornia, the  discovery  of  the  Colorado  River,  and  the  knowledge  that 
the  Sea  of  Cortes,  or  the  Vermilion  Sea,  was  a  gulf,  the  one  now 
known  {.s  the  "Gulf  of  California." 

It  had  been  the  p]an  of  Cortes  to  coast  north'  ard,  westward  and 
scmthward.  along  America  and  Asia,  until  he  reached  the  Indies, 
noting  the  exact  position  of  the  Straits  of  Anian  as  he  passed ;  but 
the  vessels  he  had  constructed  for  that  purpose  were  ordered  tf)  be 
sent  in  a  direct  path  ac-ross  the  Pacific,  and  he  was  compelled  to  build 
others.  It  was  witFr  these  that  his  expeditions  along  the  Mexican 
Coast  and  in  Lower  CJalifornia  were  conducted.  The  first  attempt 
t<;  pass  around  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Peninsula  of  Califor- 
nia and  follow  the  outer  coast  northward  was  made  in  1539.  On 
the  twenty-ninth  of  October  of  that  year  Francisco  de  Ulloa,  who 
had  been  the  energetic  assistant  of  the  great  conquesitador  in  all 
his  operations  on  the  western  coast  of  Mexico,  sailed  from  the  bay 
of  Santa  Cruz,  the  scene  of  Cortes'  disastrous  attempt  at  coloniza- 
tion in  Lowei-  California,  and  passed  around  the  cape  now  known 
as  "  San  Lucas."  On  the  first  of  February  he  had  proceeded  as  far 
north  as  2.S",  when  he  e  icountered  an  island  near  the  coast  which  he 
christened  "  Isle  of  Cedars."  For  two  months  he  was  l)affled  by 
head  winds  and  contended  with  sickness  among  his  crew,  afllicted 
with  that  dread  malady  the  scurvy,  the  scourge  of  the  early  mariners, 
wh(»  neither  understood  its  nature  nor  knew  how  to  prevent  or  cure 


TIIK  FABULOUS  STRAITS  OK  ANIAN. 


25 


it.  The  sickness  uimbating  and  his  stock  of  provisions  beginning 
to  run  short,  Ulloa  abandoned  the  effort  to  progress  further  and 
returned  to  Mexico. 

No  immediate  attempt  was  made  to  continue  the  explorations 
thus  begun  by  Ulloa.  Th.e  lact  ^vas  that  Don  Antonio  de  Mendoza, 
a  Spanish  nobleman  of  high  rank,  who  had  succeeded  Cortes  as 
Viceroy  of  New  Spain,  was  deeply  interested  in  expk/ring  the  inte- 
rior to  the  northward,  in  search  of  a  mythical  country  called 
"  Cibola,"  and  another  named  "  Quivira,"  stories  of  whose  wonder- 
ful richness  had  been  received  from  wandering  refugees,  who  claimed 
to  have  seen  them  or  been  informed  of  their  existence  by  th<;  Indians. 
Two  expeditions  were  sent  out  to  accomplish  this  purpose.  One 
under  Fernando  de  Alarcon  ascended  the  Coloradt)  a  distance  of 
300  miles  without  observing  anything  suggestive  of  civilized  nations; 
while  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Caronado  was  equally  unsuccessful  in 
a  land  journey  which  took  him  as  far  north  as  40°,  and  extended 
over  two  years  of  time. 

Even  before  Coronado  returned  from  following  the  ignis  fahms 
of  Quivira,  Mendoza  dispatched  an  expedition  by  sea  to  search  for 
the  Straits  of  Anian,  and  incidentally  to  discover  any  of  those  civ- 
ilized nations  which  Indian  tradition  and  Caucasian  imaginati(m 
located  further  to  the  northwest.  This  fleet  consisted  of  two  small 
vessels,  commanded  by  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  and  sailed  in  the 
year  1542.  Cabrillo  followed  the  coast  as  far  north  as  latitude  38°, 
when  he  encountered  a  violent  storm  which  drove  him  many  miles 
backward.  From  this  he  found  shelter  in  a  small  harbor  in  the 
Island  of  San  Bernardino,  lying  near  the  coast  in  latitude  34°, 
which  he  christened  "  Port  Possession,"  being  the  first  point  on  the 
California  coast  of  which  the  Spaniards  took  possession.  While 
the  vessels  were  lying  in  this  harl)or,  Cabrillo  died,  on  the  third  of 
January,  1548,  and  the  command  devolved  upon  Bartolonu'  Ferrelo, 
the  pilot,  as  the  second  in  power  upon  the  Spanish  vessels  was  des- 
ignated at  that  time.  This  position  was  always  occupied  by  an 
experienced  seaman,  as  it  frequently  hapt)ened  that  the  commander 
of  the  expedition  was  not  a  practical  navigator;  and  this  partially 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  ])ut  little  accurate  knowledge  was  gained 
by  Spanish  explorers,  who  took  but  few  observations  and  kept 
exceedingly  poor  records,  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  after  half  a  dozen 


2(5 


IHSTOKY  OK   WILLAMKTTK  VALLKY. 


voyages  of  ('X[)lorat'n»n  tlun-  wer»^  unalde  to  ti\'U'<^  the  coiitoiir  of  the 
coast  line  upon  tlu'  nuij)  witli  even  an  approach  to  accun\cy. 

Upon  assuming  c<»nnnan(l  of  the  expedition,  Ferreh)  again 
headed  the  \essels  to  tlie  nt^rtlnvanl.  Near  hititude  41°  he  discov- 
ered a  prominent  headhind  on  a  rocky  JUi'd  forbidding  coast,  which 
lie  named  Cabo  dc  For/imas,  tlie  "  Cape  of  Perils,"  and  which  is 
pro])al)ly  the  one  suhstvpiently  cln-istened  "Mendocino,"  in  ii(»nor 
of  the  Mexican  Viceroy,  Men(h)za,  who  had  dispatched  tJie  expedi- 
tion. On  the  first  of  March,  154;?,  Ferreh)  readied  tlie  farthest 
point  to  the  northwanl,  which  is  given  by  some  authorities  as  lati-  . 
tude  44°,  and  liy  others  as  4.'{°,  Other  historians,  inchiding  Ban- 
croft, do  not  accord  liim  even  so  higli  a  latitude  as  4.?",  The  con- 
flict arises  from  the  careless  and  meagre  records  aljove  referred  to. 
However,  it  makes  Imt  little  difference,  as  he  progressed  as  far  as 
Rogue  River,  an<l  possibly  to  the  I'mpcpia,  and  can  safely  be  cred- 
ited with  the  discovery  of  (Jregon,  so  far  as  sailing  along  its  coast 
without  making  a  landing,  or  even  drawing  a  chart  of  its  outline, 
may  be  considered  to  constitute  a  discovery.  Lack  of  piV)visions 
and  the  ravages  of  the  drea<led  scurvy  among  his  crew  compelled 
Ferrelo  to  abandon  the  effort  to  proceed  further  and  return  to 
Mexico. 

The  return  of  Ferrelo  without  having  discovered  the  mythical 
straits  or  the  e([ually  visionary  cities  and  wealthy  nations,  reports 
of  which  had  attracted  the  cupidity  of  the  Spanish  adventurers, 
following  close  upon  Alarcon's  fruitless  voyage  up  the  Colorado, 
and  Coronado's  wild-goose  chase  in  search  of  Quivira,  and  com- 
bined witJi  the  report  of  the  survivors  of  DeSoto's  unfortunate 
expedition  to  tlie  Mississippi,  satisfied  the  Spanish  authorities  in  the 
New  World  that  neither  wealthy  nations  nor  navigable  passages  of 
communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  were  to  be 
found  north  of  Mexico,  unless  beyond  the  40th  parallel  of  latitude. 
With  this  conclusion  they  aliandoned  all  effort  to  explore  the  country 
to  the  northward,  and  turned  their  attention  to  more  remunerative 
ventures  across  the  Pacific  to  the  Indies. 

By  this  time  Portugal  had  estaldished  a  large  and  immensely 
profitaV)le  commerce  witli  the  Indies,  by  following  the  long  route 
around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Spain  viewed  this  with  jealous 
eye,  notwithstanding  the  enormous  revenue  she  was  already  receiv- 


THE  FABIJLOITS  STRAITS  OK   ANIAN. 


27 


iug  from  her  possessions  in  the  New  VVorl<l,  and  put  forth  great 
exertions  to  secure  a  footing  for  herself  in  tlie  Indies.  Several  un- 
successfvd  expeditions  were  dispatched  across  the  Pacific  from  Mex- 
ico, but,  finally,  in  1564,  the  Philippine  Islands  were  suhdued  and 
taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  monarch.  In  a  few 
years  an  enormous  revenue  was  derived  from  tliis  new  dependency. 
Her  possessions  in  America  formed  not  only  an  intermediate  station 
as  a  basis  of  operations,  but  furnished,  also,  the  gold  and  silver 
with  Avhich  to  purchase  the  silks,  porcelain  and  spices  of  the  Orient. 
No  other  nation  possessed  such  facilities  for  commerce  in  the  Pacific, 
and  no  flag  but  that  of  Spain  fluttered  in  the  trade  winds  that  sweep 
steadily  across  that  mighty  ocean.  Not  a  ship  of  war  cruised  on 
its  broad  expanse  to  guard  the  commerce  from  hostile  fleets.  An- 
nually the  galleons  sailed  from  Mexico  with  gold  and  silver,  and 
returned  laden  with  the  precious  products  of  the  East,  which  were 
transported  across  the  isthmus  to  ships  waiting  to  carry  them  to  the 
mother  country.  The  monarch  of  that  powerful  nation  was  the 
l)ersonification  of  arrogance.  Over  all  lands  even  technically  dis- 
covered l)y  his  sul)jects  he  claimed  dominion  and  the  exclusive  right 
of  trade,  even  if  no  settlement  of  any  kind  had  l)een  attem|.)ted. 
Foreigners  of  all  nations  were  prolii])ited,  under  pain  of  death,  from 
having  any  intercourse  whatever  with  such  territories,  or  from  nav- 
igating the  adjacent  waters. 

Spain  was  frequently  involved  in  hostilities  with  her  European 
neighbors,  the  great  revenue  derived  from  her  possessions  in  the 
New  World  and  her  commerce  with  the  Indies  furnishing  her  the 
"  sinews  of  war."  Much  as  they  desired  it,  her  enemies  were  unable 
to  attack  her  in  this  most  vital  part.  Cargo  after  cargo  crossed  the 
Pacific  and  not  a  hostile  sail  was  to  be  seen  on  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean.  On  the  Atlantic  side,  however,  things  ^vore  a  different  aspect. 
Armed  fleets  were  necessary  to  protect  her  merchantmen  from  the 
men  of  war  sent  out  to  cut  them  off  in  times  of  national  disputes, 
and  from  the  piratical  crafts  that  infested  the  West  Indies  at  all 
seasons.  These  "freebooters,"  or  " buccanners,"  plied  their  pirati- 
(•al  calling  even  in  times  of  peace,  with  the  full  knowledge  and  even 
encouragement  of  their  sovereigns.  Tiiey  sought  diligently  for  the 
Northwest  Passage.  If  they  could  only  find  some  route  into  the 
Pacific  other  than  the  dangerous  one  by  ^\'ay  of  the  Straits  of  Ma- 


28 


IirSTOHY  OK  WILLAMETTK  VALLKY. 


gellan,  they  could  prey  to  their  liearts'  eonteut  upon  the  unprotected 
coininerce  of  that  ocean.  They  well  knew  the  value  of  the  cargoes 
carried  in  the  unarmed  galleons  from  the  Philippines.  At  last, 
unable  to  find  the  Straits  of  Anian,  they  invaded  the  Pacific  by  the 
dreaded  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  the  security  of  Spanish  shipping 
in  the  South  Sea  vanished  forev.er. 

The  pioneer  of  this  pluiidering  l)and  was  Francis  Drake,  an 
English  seaman  of  nnich  renown,  a  daring  spirit  and  expert  nuiri- 
ner.  With  thi'ee  vessels  lie  thus  passed  into  the  Pacific  uj)on  a  mis- 
sion of  plunder.  One  of  these  was  wrecked  soon  after  passing 
through  the  straits,  another  returned  to  England,  wliile  with  his 
one  remaining  ship  Drake  sailed  u[)  the  coast,  scattering  terror  and 
devastation  among  the  Spanish  shipping,  and  levying  contributions 
in  the  defenceless  ports.  The  East  India  galleon,  with  its  precious 
cargo,  fell  into  his  hands  ofF  the  California  coast,  and  then,  with  his 
vessel  loaded  with  plunder,  he  sailed  northward  to  search  for  the 
Straits  of  Anian,  intending  to  pass  through  them  into  tlie  Atlantic 
and  thus  reach  England  by  a  new  route.  By  doing  this  he  would 
avoid  a  coml)at  with  a  S[)anish  fleet  which  he  had  every  reason  to 
expect  would  be  lying  in  wait  for  him  at  the  Straits  of  Magellan. 
He  failed  utterly  to  find  any  such  passage,  though  hoAv  thoroughly 
he  searched  the  coast  is  unknown;  and  even  the  extent  <if  his  voyage 
to  the  north  is  a  matter  of  nuich  dispute.  By  some  authorities  it 
is  given  as  latitude  43°,  and  by  others  at  48".  To  this  latter  opin- 
ion all  English  writers  hold,  while  American  liistorians  favor  the 
former,  and  the  reason  for  adopting  their  separate  opinions  is  not 
such  an  one  as  should  actuate  the  true  historian.  If  Drake  did  not 
proceed  beyond  latitude  43°,  then  he  made  no  further  progress  north 
than  did  the  Spaniard  Ferrelo,  thirty-five  years  before,  and  was  not 
entitled  to  the  honor  of  discovering  any  new  region  (»n  the  Pacific 
coast.  '  In  that  event  England's  claim  to  Oregon,  by  right  of  dis- 
covery, was  without  foundation,  since  prio!"  to  any  subsequent 
English  vt)yage  along  the  coast,  several  Spanish  expeditions  coasted 
its  whole  length  as  far  as  Alaska.  If  he  reached  latitude  48°,  on 
the  contrary,  England's  title  by  right  of  discovery  was  imdeniable. 
Such  being  the  case,  and  the  Spanish  title  to  Oregon  having  been 
ac(juired  by  the  United  States  by  purchase  and  treaty,  the  reason 
for  the  historians , of  the  two  countries  espousing  different  sides, 


TIIK  FABULOUS  STRAITS  OF  ANI  VN. 


29 


\\ithout  much  reference  to  the  truth  of  the  matter,  can  be  readily 
perceived. 

Two  accounts  of  tlu^  voyage  were  pul)lished,  thus  furnisliing  the 
foundation  for  the  controversy,  and  neitlier  of  these  narratives  bears 
eitlier  internal  or  external  evidence  of  complete  relia])ility.  Tliere 
may  well  be  a  difference  of  opinion,  but  the  fact  that  this  difference 
is  drawn  on  national  lines  is  suggestive  of  bias  and  a  lack  of  those 
qualities  which  mark  the  true  historian.  One  of  them  was  pu}>- 
lished  by  Kichard  Hakluyt,  the  celebrated  geographer  of  those  times, 
in  a  volume  embodying  the  results  of  all  previous  voyages  of  ex- 
ploration, and  is  said  to  be  the  production  of  Francis  Pretty,  one 
of  Drake's  crew  ;  though  English  autliors  claim  it  to  have  been 
\vritten  by  Hakluyt  himself  from  accounts  oi  the  voyage  related  to 
him  some  time  before,  ami  thus  subject  to  grievous  errors.  The 
other  account  is  one  which  was  published  by  a  nephew  of  Drake, 
seventy  years  after  the  voyage  was  completed,  and  long  after  every 
soul  who  had  })articipated  in  it  had  passed  to  his  final  account;  thus 
tliere  was  no  living  witness  who  could  dispute  the  wildest  and  most 
reckless  statement  the  com2)iler  might  be  led  to  make  in  his  eager- 
ness to  establish  his  relative's  position  as  discoverer  of  New  Albion, 
the  name  Drake  had  bestowed  upon  California.  The  notes  used  in 
preparing  this  volume  were  credited  to  Rev.  Fletcher,  the  chaplain 
of  the  expedition,  and  it  must  be  said  that  in  some  respects  he  was 
the  most  magnificent  liar  that  ever  undertook  to  deceive  an  audience 
absolutely  ignoi-ant  of  the  subject  with  which  he  dealt.  The  regions 
visited  \vere  entirely  unknown,  since  no  information  was  gained  by 
FeiTelo's  voyage,  and  the  world  was  prepai-ed  to  believe  anything 
of  this  region,  of  which  new  wonders  wn-e  constantly  l)eing  revealed. 
Rev.  Fletcher  seems  to  have  realized  this,  and  improved  his  oppor- 
tunity;  yet  the  fact  that  his  nott^s  contain  what  are  known  to  be 
willful  misstatements,  is  not  proof  that  in  this  one  instance  he  was 
not  correct,  or  that  his  notes  were  altered  by  the  compiler  to  read 
48°  instead  of  43°.  This  want  of  verai-ity  is,  of  course,  a  presimip- 
titm  against  liis  statement  in  this  particular;  but  it  will  require 
something  more  authentic  than  the  alleged  narrative  of  Francis 
Pretty  to  establish  their  inaccuracy  )>eyond  dispute.  When  the 
whole  matter  is  re\  iewed  impartially,  the  mind  naturally  leans  to- 
ward the  theory  of  4.'$  degrees,  without,  however,  feeling  completely 


30 


niSTOUY  OF  WILLAMETTK  VALLKY. 


satisfied  tluit  it  is  the  true  one.  In  the  nature  of  tilings  this  con- 
troN'ersy  can  never  he  setth^i,  and  Drake  and  F^errelo  will  ever  bear 
the  divided  honor  of  the  discovery  of  Oregon. 

Drake's  presence  on  the  coast  of  Oregon,  near  the  forty-third 
parallel,  is  proven  by  Spanish  records,  which  contain  a  piece  of 
information  not  to  be  found  in  either  of  the  narratives  mentioned 
above.  From  this  it  ap[)ears  that  he  had  on  board  a  Spanish  pilot, 
named  Morera,  with  whom  he  felt  dissatisfied  for  some  reason,  and 
in  the  ivgion  indicated  he  ran  into  a  "  poor  harbor  "  and  put  the 
offending  seaman  ashore,  leaving  him  among  savages,  thirty-five 
hundred  miles  from  civilization.  That  he  accomplished  the  journey 
across  that  unknown  land  and  reached  his  countrymen  in  Mexico  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  incident  is  recorded  at  all,  since  other- 
wise it  could  never  have  been  known.  Havinir  been  forced  ))ack 
along  the  c(\ast  by  adverse  winds,  he  entered  a  small  l)ay  near  lati- 
tude 38",  whe4'e  he  cast  anchor  for  thirty-six  days.  It  Avas,  until 
recent  times,  supposed  that  this  harbor  was  San  Francisco  Bay,  the 
name  helping  to  support  the  idea  with  the  unthinking.  Later  on 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  bay  was  thus  named  l\  honor  of  an  entirely 
different  personage.  Sir  Francis  Drake  was  the  revei-se  of  a  saint 
in  Spanish  eyes,  and  even  had  they  named  it  in  his  honor  they 
would  have  been  certain  to  associate  with  his  name  some  title  more 
in  harmony  with  their  estimation  of  his  character.  Drake  was  in 
search  of  the  Straits  of  Anian,  and  that  he  lay  thirty -six  days  in 
San  Francisco  Bay  without  even  attempting  to  explore  the  connect- 
ing bays  of  San  Pablo  and  Suisun,  and  the  great  na\'igable  rivers 
discharging  into  them,  is  so  manifestly  improbalde  as  to  be  beyond 
credence.  There  is  no  positive  testimony  to  support  the  idea,  and 
the  contrary  is  proven  as  nearly  as  purely  negative  testimony  can 
prove  anything.  It  is  generally  conceded  by  historians  that  Drake's 
harbor  of  refuge  was  the  one  lying  just  north  of  the  Golden  Gate 
and  known  as  "  Drake's  Bay."  It  is  in  speaking  of  this  place  that 
Chaplain  Fletchei-  displays  his  abilities  as  a  romancer.  Tlie  time 
was  the  month  of  June,  and  yet  he  states  that  snow  covered  the 
hills  and  that  the  weather  was  so  cold  that  meat  froze  upon  being 
taken  from  the  fire.  One  familiar  with  the  fact  that  snow  is  a 
rarity  there  even  in  winter,  and  that  at  no  time  does  it  become  cold 


TlIK  F  VBULOf  s  STRAITS  OK  ANIAN. 


81 


:e's 


enough  to  freeze  uieat  that  has  never  been  neai*  a  fire,  lias  his  cf>nfi- 
(lence  in  the  w^racity  of  the  chronicler  terribly  shaken. 

While  lying  in  the  harbor  Drake  landed  an<l  took  ])ossession  of 
the  country  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign,  christening  it  "New  Al- 
bion," in  honor  of  his  native  land.  Fletcher's  narrative  states  that 
the  natives  first  mistook  them  for  i'ods  and  offered  sacrifices  to  them, 
and  that  they  removed  this  impression  by  themselves  publically 
offering  up  their  devotions  to  the  Creator,  (-)f  the  inciilents  of  their 
landing  the  narrative  says: — 

Our  necessarie  business  being  ended,  our  Geneml,  with  liis  eonipanie,  travailed 
up  into  the  eountrey  to  tlieir  villiages,  wliere  we  found  lieardes  of  deere  l)y  1,(H)U  in 
a  companie,  being  most  large  and  fat  of  bodie.  We  found  tlie  wliole  countrny  to  be 
a  warren  of  strange  liinde  of  eonnies ;  their  bodies  in  bigness  as  be  the  Barl)arie 
oonnies,  tlieir  heads  as  the  heads  of  ours,  the  feet  of  a  Want  [mole]  and  the  taile  of 
a  rat,  being  of  great  length;  under  her  chinne  on  either  side  a  l)agge,  into  which 
she  gathered  her  nieate,  when  she  hath  tilled  her  bellie  al)road.  The  people  do  eat 
their  bodies,  and  make  aceompt  for  their  skinnes,  for  tlieir  King's  coat  was  made 
out  of  them.  Our  (Jeneral  called  this  countrey  Nova  Albion,  and  that  for  two 
causes:  the  one  in  respect  to  the  white  bankes  and  cliftes  which  lie  toward  the  sea ; 
and  the  other  because  it  might  have  some  artinitie  with  our  countrey  in  name 
which  sometimes  was  so  called. 

There  is  no  part  of  earth  here  to  be  taken  up,  wherein  there  is  not  a  reasonable 
quantitie  of  gold  or  nilvcr.  Before  sailing  away,  our  General  set  up  a  monument  of 
our  being  there,  as  also  of  her  majestie's  right  and  title  to  the  same,  viz.:  a  plate 
nailed  upon  a  faire  great  poste,  whereupon  w»>s  engraved  her  majestie's  name,  the 
day  and  yeare  of  our  arrival  there,  with  the  free  giving  up  of  the  province  and  peo- 
ple into  her  majestie's  hands,  together  with  her  highness'  picture  and  arms,  in  a 
piece  of  five  pence  of  current  English  money  under  the  plate,  whereuuder  was  also 
written  the  name  of  our  General. 

What  the  worthy  Chai)lain  consideivd  a  "  reasonable  quantitie" 
of  the  precious  metals  it  is  impossil)le  t<j  conjecture,  but  the  proba- 
bilities are  that  he  manufactured  this  statement  from  whole  cloth. 
The  earliest  authentic  accounts  of  the  Indians  of  California  do  not 
speak  of  them  as  possessing  any  gold  or  silver,  and  it  was  many 
years  after  the  Spaniai'ds  took  possession  of  the  State  before  gold 
was  discovered  and  mined.  At  that  time  the  natives  were  com- 
pletely ignorant  of  the  character  and  value  of  the  substance,  and 
had  no  traditions  on  the  su])ject ;  from  which  may  reasonably  be 
concluded  that  Chaplain  Fletcher  delibei'ately  lied  when  he  made 
that  assertion — the  more  so,  that  even  to  the  present  time  no  gold 
has  ))een  discovered  in  the  locality  of  which  he  speaks.  It  will  be 
remembei-ed  that  a  fi'W  yeai's  l)ef(»i-e,  wlum  America  was  first  dis- 
covered, it  was  the  general   belief  that  it  was  speckled   with  gold 


.'V2 


1IIHTORY  OF   WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


an<l  silver,  and  glistened  with  gems.  These  extravagant  ideas  had 
become  modified  in  Drake's^  time,  though  by  no  means  abandoned. 
The  S[)aniar(ls  had  been  searching  a  few  years  before  in  this  direc- 
tion for  wealthy  nations,  whose  existence  was  reported  to  them  by 
the  Indians  of  Mexico,  but  without  success.  Tliey  still  enteiiained 
the  Ijelief  that  [tearls  and  the  precious  metals  could  be  found  in 
abundance  in  this  region,  and  Fletcher  was  simply  supplying  a 
"  long  felt  want "  when  he  wrote  that  a  "  reasonable  quantitie  of 
gold  and  silver"  existed  in  every  handful  of  dirt  that  might  be 
taken  U[)  at  random  on  the  California  coast.  His  other  statements 
are  probably  correct,  since  ground  squirrels  exis  t  in  such  abundance 
there  and  are  so  destructive  to  crops  that  the  state  granted  a  bounty 
for  their  extermination,  and  the  early  pioneers  speak  of  immense 
bands  of  antelope  and  elk  tliat  roamed  the  valley  and  foot-hills. 

Having  abandoned  the  hope  of  finding  a  passage  into  the  At- 
lantic, and  fearing  to  attempt  to  return  by  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
Drake  undertook  the  long  voyage  across  the  Pacific,  and  reached 
England  by  weathering  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  His  return  with 
his  vessel  loaded  with  plimdered  riches  of  the  Spaniards  was  hailed 
with  joy  by  his  countrymen.  The  interests  of  Spain  and  England 
were  hostile.  The  latter  looked  with  jealousy  and  fear  upon  the 
power  of  the  Castilian  thione,  sustained  by  the  enormous  revenue 
derived  fi-om  America  and  the  Indies,  and  Queen  Elizabeth  knighted 
the  daring  robber  for  his  services  to  his  country  in  striking  such  a 
severe  blow  at  the  resources  of  her  rival.  Ten  years  later,  when 
the  grand  Philip  sent  that  wonderfid  Spanish  Armada,  which  was 
fitted  out  by  revenues  derived  from  this  same  commerce  and  was  to 
crush  England  at  a  blow,  one  of  the  gallant  fleets  which  met  and 
defeated  it  was  commanded  by  Sir  Francis  Drake. 

Other  English  freebooters,  encouraged  b}  the  brilliant  success 
of  Drake,  entered  the  Pacific  in  che  same  manner  and  preyed  upon 
the  Spanish  shipping.  The  first  and  most  successful  of  these  was 
Thomas  Cavendish,  who  voyaged  the  coasts  of  Chili,  Peru  and 
Mexico  in  1587;  sunk  and  burned  nineteen  vessels,  and  captured 
the  galleon  Santa  Anna  off  the  coast  of  California.  The  next  year 
he  returned  to  England  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  having  accom- 
plished the  third  circumnavigation  of  the  glol)e,  and  it  is  said  that 


THK  rABTTLOriS  STRAITS  OK   ANTAN. 


88 


his  crew  were  dreHsed  in  silks,  his  sails  made  of  damask,  aiid  the 
topmast  covered  with  cloth  of  gold. 

Great  exertions  were  now  made  by  the  English  and  Dutch  to 
find  the  Northwest  Passage,  and  frequent  rumors  were  spread  that 
the  Straits  of  Anian  had  actually  been  discovered,  creating  much 
joy  in  England  and  Holland,  and  causing  great  anxiety  in  Spain, 
Spanish  America  and  the  Philippines.  Many  chiinis  were  mach*  to 
having  made  this  disc(»verv  l>y  paities  who  could  not  substantiate 
them.  This  was  done  for  various  reasons.  Some  enjoyed  the  noto- 
riety and  fame,  as  a  great  navigator,  such  rei)orts  brought  them; 
others  endeavored  to  secure  a  reward  for  tlieii'  alleged  services  to 
their  country,  and  still  others  ho})ed  to  thus  win  employment  in  their 
business,  or  receive  the  conuuand  of  an  expedition  to  locate  detinitely 
the  pf»sition  oi  the  ]>assage.  So  frequent  were  these  tales,  and 
so  much  at  variance  with  v^ach  othei',  that  they  all  fell  into  disre})ute, 
and  it  is  doubtful  had  such  a  strait  been  actually  found  if  geogra- 
})hers  could  have  been  l»rought  to  believe  it.  Tlie  fiction  of  this 
character  which  attracted  the  most  attention  and  which  had  the  most 
influence  in  dictating  the  character  of  expeditions  in  after  years, 
wjis  one  niaile  by  Captain  Loren/o  Ferrer  de  Maldonado,  a  Portu- 
guese. In  1()(>9  this  gentleman  presented  a  petition  to  the  Spanish 
Council  of  the  Indies — that  august  body  which,  sitting  in  S[)ain, 
ruled  the  S})anish  ])ossessions  in  India  and  America— asking  for  a 
suitable  reward  for  his  services,  and  the  command  of  a  Spanish  expe- 
dition to  take  [)ossession  of  the  straits  and  fortify  theui  against  the 
l>a«sage  of  ships  of  any  other  nation. 

The  voyage  upcm  which  Maldonado  based  his  claim  he  asserte<l 
to  ha\e  been  nuule  twenty-one  years  before,  in  l.")S8.  By  this  time 
it  was  conce<led  that  the  distance  fi'oni  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
in  the  northern  regions,  was  gi-eater  than  it  was  formerly  supposed 
to  be,  and  this  le<l  Maldonado  to  locate  the  Straits  of  Anian  far  to 
the  westward  of  those  thus  chi-istened  by  Cortereal.  This  latter 
passage  he  placed  as  far  north  as  latitude  7.")",  instead  of  ()()",  their 
true  location  as  given  by  Cortereal  himself.  His  narrative  asserted 
that  the  vessel  passed  through  a  long  and  tortuous  channel  in  the 
seventy-fifth  parallel,  into  the  "  North  Sea,"  an  entirely  unknown 
V)ody  of  water  at  that  time,  but  which  corresponds  in  location  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  which,  however,  has  no  such  passage  leading  into  it, 


% 


;h 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLKY. 


and  which  is  utterly  iiniiavigahlf  by  reason  of  its  vast  iit'lds  of  ice. 
Across  this  Noith  Sea  he  sailed  in  a  southwesterly  ilirection  a  dis- 
tance of  7tH>  leagues  (ahout  .'{,()()(>  miles),  when  he  came  upon  the 
Straits  of  Anian,  leading  directly  south  into  the  South  Sea.  This 
wondeiful  passage  he  thus  descriltes: — 

Huviiijf  I'leart'd  tl»e  Strait  of  Jjuliratlor,  we  began  to  descend  from  that  latitude, 
stoffinj!;  weMt-Houtliwt'Ht  and  soiithwcHt,  three  hundred  and  ttfty  leagueu,  to  the  Tlst 
degree  of  latitude,  when  we  perceived  a  high  coast,  without  being  able  to  tell 
whether  it  was  part  of  the  continent  or  an  island ;  but  we  remarked  that,  if  it  were 
the  continent,  it  nuist  be  oi)poHite  the  coast  of  New  Spain.  From  this  land  we 
directed  our  course  wcst-soutliwest,  four  hundred  and  forty  leagues,  until  we  came 
to  the  (iOtli  degree,  in  which  parallel  we  discovered  the  Strait  of  Anian.    *    *    *    * 

The  strait  which  we  discovered  in  60°,  at  the  distance  of  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ten  leagues  from  Spain,  appears,  according  to  ancient  tradition,  to  be 
that  named  l)y  geographers,  in  their  maps,  the  Strait  of  Anian;  and,  if  it  be  so,  it 
must  be  a  strait  having  Asia  on  the  one  side,  and  America  on  the  other,  which 
seems  to  be  the  case,  according  to  the  following  narrative :—"  As  soon  as  we  had 
cleared  the  strait,  we  coasted  along  the  shores  i>f  America  for  more  than  one  hundred 
leagues  south  westward,  to  the  noth  degree  of  latitude,  on  which  coast  there  were  no 
inhabitants,  or  any  opening  indicating  the  vicinity  of  another  strait,  through  which 
the  South  Sea,  flowing  into  the  North,  might  insulate  that  part:  and  we  concluded 
that  all  that  coast  belonged  to  America,  and  that  continuing  along  it,  we  might  soon 
reach  the  t^uivira  and  Cape  Mendocino.  We  then  left  this  coast  and,  sailing  to- 
wards the  we.-tt  four  days,  we  discovered  a  very  high  land,  and  continued  along  the 
coast,  from  v/hich  we  kept  at  a  safe  distance,  always  in  the  open  sea— sailing,  at  one 
time,  to  the  northeast,  at  others  towards  the  north-northeast,  and  again  to  the 
north,  whence  it  "teemed  to  us  that  the  coast  ran  northeast  and  southwest. 

"  We  were  unable  to  mark  any  particular  points,  on  account  of  our  distance  from 
land ;  and  we  can,  therefore,  only  attirm  that  it  is  inhabited,  nearly  to  the  entrance 
of  the  strait,  as  we  saw  smoke  rising  up  in  many  places.  This  country,  according 
to  the  c'lurts,  must  belong  to  Tartary,  or  Cathaia  (China),  and  at  a  distance  of  a  few 
leagues  from  the  co'wt  must  be  the  faui.'d  f  iiy  of  Cambula,  the  metropolis  of  Tar- 
tary. Finally,  having  followed  the  direciit.n  of  this  coast,  we  found  ourselves  at 
the  entrance  of  the  same  Strait  of  Anian,  which,  flfteen  days  before,  we  had  passed 
through  to  the  open  sea;  this  we  knew  to  !»'  the  South  Sea,  where  are  situated 
.Japan,  China,  the  Mouluccax,  India,  New  (irnea,  and  the  land  discovered  by  Cap- 
tain Quiros,  with  all  the  coast  of  New  Spain  and  Peru.        *       *       *       *       * 

"  The  Strait  of  Anian  is  tifteen  leagues  in  length,  and  C4in  easily  be  passed  with  a 
tide  lasting  six  hours,  for  those  tides  are  very  rapid.  There  are,  in  this  length,  six 
turns,  and  two  entrances,  which  lie  north  and  south  ;  that  is,  bear  from  each  other 
north  and  south.  The  entrance  on  the  north  side  (through  which  we  passed)  is  less 
than  half  a  quarter  of  a  league  in  width,  and  on  each  side  are  ridges  of  high  rocks; 
but  the  rock  on  the  side  of  Asia  is  higher  and  stec|>er  than  on  the  other,  and  hangs 
over,  so  that  nothing  falling  from  the  tops  can  reach  its  base.  The  entrance  into 
the  South  Sea,  near  the  harbor,  is  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  league  in  width,  and 
thence  the  passage  runs  in  an  obli<(Ue  dii'ection,  increasing  the  distance  between 
the  two  coasts.  In  the  middle  of  the  strait,  at  the  termination  of  the  third  turn,  is 
a  great  rock,  and  an  inlet,  formed  by  a  rugged  rock,  three  entadias  (about  one  thou- 
sand one  hmidred  feet  I  in  height,  more  or  less;  its  form  is  round,  and  its  diameter 
may  be  two  hundrcil  paces ;  its  distance  from  the  land  of  Asia  is  very  little ;  but  the 


TlIK  FAHl'LOITS  STRAITS  OK  ANIAN, 


86 


sea  on  that  Hide  is  full  of  slioaln  and  reefn,  and  can  be  only  navigatod  liy  bouts.  The 
distance  between  this  inlet  and  the  continent  of  America  is  less  than  a  ((uartcr  of  a 
league  in  width,  and,  although  its  channel  is  ho  deep  that  two  or  even  three  Hhijm 
sail  abreast  through  it,  two  bastions  might  be  built  on  tho  lianlts  with  little  trouble, 
which  would  contract  the  channel  to  within  the  reacli  of  a  musket  sliot. 

"  In  the  harbor  in  which  our  ships  anchored,  at  the  entrance  of  the  strait,  on  the 
south  side,  we  lay  from  the  beginning  of  April  to  the  middle  of  June,  when  a  large 
vessel  of  eight  hundred  tons  burden  came  there  from  the  (South  Sea,  in  order  to  pass 
the  strait.  Upon  this  we  put  ourselves  on  our  guard  ;  but,  having  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  her,  I  found  them  willing  to  give  us  some  of  fheir  merchandise,  the 
greater  part  of  which  consisted  of  articles  similar  to  those  manufactured  in  China, 
such  as  brocades,  silks,  porcelain,  feathers,  precious  stones,  pearls,  and  gold.  These 
people  seemed  to  be  Hanseaiics,  who  inhabit  the  bay  of  St.  Nicliolas,  or  tlie  port  of 
St.  Michael  (Archangel,  on  the  White  Sea).  In  order  to  understand  one  another 
we  were  forced  to  speak  Latin— those  of  our  jiarty  who  understood  that  language 
talking  with  those  on  board  theship  who  were  also  accjuainted  with  it.  They  did  not 
seem  to  be  Catholics,  but  Lutherans.  They  said  they  came  from  a  large  city  more 
than  one  hundred  leagues  from  the  strait,  and  though  I  can  not  exactly  remember 
its  name,  I  think  they  called  it  Rohr,  or  some  such  name,  which  they  said  had  a 
good  harbor  and  a  navigable  river,  and  was  subject  to  the  great  khan,  as  it  belonged 
to  Tartary  ;  and  that  in  that  port  they  left  another  ship  belonging  to  tlieir  country. 
We  could  learn  no  more  from  them,  as  they  acted  with  great  caution  and  little  con- 
fidence, being  afraid  of  our  company ;  wherefore  we  parted  from  them  near  the 
strait,  in  the  North  Sea,  and  set  sail  towards  Spain." 

It  is  barely  possible  tliut  a  voyage  may  have  l)eeii  made  about 
the  time  mentioned  in  the  memorial,  during  which  the  vessel  entered 
Hudson's  Bay,  and  that  Maldcmado  was  a  seaman  or  sub-officer  on 
board,  which  would  accoiuit  for  his  ignorance  on  such  technical 
points  as  the  degrees  of  latitude  and  number  of  miles  sailed,  and  that 
two  decades  later,  when  his  superior  officers  were  dead  and  he  him- 
self had  risen  in  rank,  he  desired  the  command  of  an  expedition  to 
search  for  these  straits  in  whose  existence  he  firmly  believe<l,  and 
which  he  claimed  to  have  seen  simply  to  lend  weight  to  his  })etition. 
This,  however,  is  improbable,  and  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the 
^vhole  narrative  was  a  fal)rication.  Diligent  search  among  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  records  of  those  times  has  failed  to  reveal  any  indi- 
cation of  such  a  voyage,  or  any  coniirmatory  evidence  whatever, 
other  than  the  memorial  itself.  At  that  time  (1588)  Spain  and 
England  were  al)sor})ed  in  the  conflict  ovei'  the  Spanish  Armada, 
yet  it  is  doubtful  if  that  is  a  sufficient  reason  t'oi"  the  omission  to 
record  in  any  manner  such  a  voyage  as  the  one  thus  described  by 
Maldonado. 

The  evidences  against  the  genuineness  of  the  narrative  are  almost 
convincing,  even  when  considered  without  reference  to  the  fact  that 


m 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTK  VALLEY. 


it  is  ii(»\v  i'\i(leiit  no  such  jniMsage  exists.  In  his  narrative,  which 
was  unusually  precise  and  careful  in  its  details,  Maldonado  gave  all 
the  geoirraphical  ideas  of  the  time  in  regard  to  the  rc^gions  that 
Would  naturally  l)e  visite<l;  and  this  very  fact  is  strongly  presuinj)tive 
(•\id(^nce  that  the  vt)yage  was  a  fiction,  as  these  i-heories,  ho  carefully 
followed,  have  nearly  all  been  f( mud  to  he  false.  Even  the  minute- 
ness of  detail  is  suspicious,  since  it  is  chiefly  the  inaccurate  records, 
clumsy  narratives,  and  "yarns"  flowing  fi'om  tlie  fertile  imagina- 
tion of  the  sea  rovers,  to  which  many  of  the  erroneous,  and  even 
ludicrous,  ideas  of  those  times  ai'e  directly  chargeable.  No  such 
caivfuhiess  in  statement  i-haracterized  tiiv^  utU'ratixe  «)f  a;iy  prior  or 
coutem])orary  voyage,  and  this  was  the  first  one  claiming  to  have 
accomplished  so  much,  which  did  not  sadly  nuir  the  nuips  of  theo- 
retical ge<oi;i pliers.  Its  ready-uuide  a]>pearajice  was  sufficient  to 
cause  its  <  i,    re  rejection  by  the  CVmncil  of  the  Indies. 

In  after  years,  however,  two  co[iies  of  this  memorial,  of  the  ex- 
istence of  which  the  vorld  was  ignorant,  were  fotnid  among  ancient 
records  at  different  places,  each  one  purporting  to  )»e  the  original 
document.  They  created  great  excitement,  and,  as  will  be  seen 
later,,  Iiad  nuich  to  do  with  the  shaping  of  exphu'ations  for  a  century 
thereafter.  As  h'te  as  ITiM),  when  the  heated  controversy  ovei-  the 
Nootka  afFa'i*  seemed  al)out  to  ])lunge  F^ngland  and  Spain  into  war, 
the  (piestion  of  the  autheiiticity  of  Maldonad  >'s  narrative  wax  gi-avely 
discussed,  and  a  last  thorough  search  was  made  in  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal for  confirmative  evidence,  which  was  as  fruitless  as  had  been 
all  previous  efforts.  With  the  end  of  thnt  controversy  Maldonado's 
mythical  straits  disapjjeared  forever  from  the  jdaneof  active  histoi'y 
and  took  its  proper  place  in  the  domain  of  romance. 


•(CHAPTER  III. 

THE  STRAIT8  OK  .HAN  DK  FUCA  AND  THE  RIVER  OF  KINGS. 

Xitri'dtive  of  Mirhdi'l  Lock,  the  Polder—  St(,/'i/  of  Ji/an  de  Fthra,  as  told 
hy  Loci- — I)f,s(u-i]>tioii.  of  the  Straits  of  Fiica — Vontroversij  among 
HistorUms  over  Fui;ti''s  aJleged.  Voyaije  -Both  Sides  Carefully  Con- 
sidered—  Probably  a  Myth  -Advilral  Fontes  alleged  Voyage — The 
River  of  Kings — Its  Absurdity  Pointed  (hit. 


THERE  is  still  anotlier  somewhat  iiiytliical  voyas^e  associated 
with  this  search  for  the  Sti'aits  of  Aiiiaii,  which  has  jtlayed  a 
most  important  ))!irt  in  the  history  of  Oregon;  and  thonjxh  it  comes 
entirely  thi'ouu'ii  Ent^lish  sonrces,  is  nttei'ly  rei)ndiated  hy  modern 
English  historians,  and  even  receives  hut  little  credence  among 
American  writers.  This  is  the  ceiel>rate(l  voyage  of  Juan  de  Fuca, 
who  '\H  clainie(|  to  have  discoveivd  the  Straits  of  I'uca,  that  hroad 
channel  separating  a  portion  of  Washington  Territory  from  Van- 
cover  Island,  in  Hi'itish  ('olund)ia. 

There  was  puhlished  in  London,  in  IB".*.'),  a  celel. rated  historical 
and  geographical  work,  edited  hy  iSamuel  Purchas,  which  hon>  the 
odd  title  of  "  The  Pilgrims."  Among  other  things,  this  volume  con- 
tained "A  note  l»y  Michael  'iock,  the  eldei',  touching  the  Strait  of 
Sea,  commonly  calleci  Fi-etum  ^\nian,  in  the  South  Sea,  througii  the 
Northwest  Passage  of  Mv'<^a  Incognita."  The  most  inijtortant  por- 
tion of  this  alleged  dt»cument  of  Mr.  Lock  is  as  follows;  -- 

When  I  was  in  ViMii(!e,  in  Ai)ril,  loiHi,  liaply  arrive<l  tiiere  an  ()1<1  man,  alxmt 
Hixty  years  of  age,  failwi,  cDinmon'.y,  .Juiin  de  Fuca,  l)iit  named  properly  ApoHtolas 
Vulerianus,  of  nation  a  Greel<,  l)orn  In  ("eplialonia,  of  profession  a  maiim  r,  and  an 
ancient  pilot  of  sliips.  Tills  man,  Itein^  eonie  lately  out  of  Spain,  arrived  lir.st  ut 
Leghorn,  and  went  thence  to  Florence,  where  he  found  one  Joiui  Dim^: Ian,  an  En- 
glishniau,  a  famous  mariner,  ready  condng  from  Venice,  to  lie  pilot  oi  n  X'eiietian 
ship  for  England,  in  wlioae  company  they  came  both  together  to  Venice.  And 
John  Dougliw  l)eing  acquainted  with  nie  before,  he  gave  me  knowledge  of  this 


;5s 


HISTOHY  (»!■'   WII.I.AMKTTK  VALLKY. 


Greek  pilot,  and  liroiij^ht  hill!  !<i  my  H|)et!C'h  ;  and  in  loiiK  talks  and  conforent'e  l)e- 
tween  u.3,  in  j)re8ence  of  John  DoupltiH,  this  (Jroek  pilot  dwlaied,  in  the  Italian  and 
.Spanish  lansnages,  this  much  in  ofloct  as  followeth  :  Fii-st,  he  said  he  had  been  in 
the  West  Indies  of  Hpain  forty  years,  and  had  sailed  to  and  from  many  i)laces 
thereof,  in  the  service  of  the  Spaniards.  Also,  he  said  that  he  was  in  the  Spanish 
ship,  which,  in  returning  from  the  Islands  Philippines,  towards  Nova  Spania,  was 
robbed  and  taken  at  the  Cape  California  by  (.'aj)tain  Candish,  Kn^li^hman,  whereby 
he  lost  60,0(10  ducats  of  his  goods.  Also,  he  said  that  he  was  pilot  of  three  .small 
ships  which  the  V^iceroy  of  Mexico  sent  from  Mexifo,  armed  with  100  men,  under 
a  captain,  Spaniards,  to  discover  the  Straita  of  Anian,  along  the  coast  of  the  South 
Sea,  and  to  fortify  in  that  strait,  to  resist  the  pa.s.Hage  and  i)roceedings  of  the  English 
nation,  which  were  forced  to  pass  through  those  straits  into  the  South  Sea;  and 
that,  by  reason  of  a  mutiny  which  lui])i)ened  among  the  soldiers  for  the  misconduct 
of  their  captain,  that  voyage  vv'us  overthrown,  and  the  ship  returned  from  Califor- 
nia to  Nova  Spania,  without  anything  done  in  that  voyage  ;  and  that,  after  their 
return,  the  captain  was  at  Mexico  punished  by  uistice.  Also,  he  said  that,  shortly 
after  the  said  voyage  was  so  ill-ended,  tiie  salt'  Viceroy  of  Mexico  .sent  him  out 
again,  in  1.502,  witli  a  snudl  caravel  and  a  pinnace,  armed  with  mariiu-rs  only,  to 
follow  the  said  vr)yage  for  the  disc(!very  of  the  Straits  of  Anian,  and  the  ))a8sage 
thereof  into  the  sea,  which  they  cjill  the  North  Sea,  which  is  our  northwest  sea: 
and  that  he  followed  his  course,  in  that  voyage,  west  and  northwest  in  the  South 
Sea,  all  along  the  coast  of  Nova  Spania,  and  California,  and  the  Indies,  now  called 
North  America  (all  which  voyage  he  signified  to  me  in  a  great  map,  and  a  sea-card 
of  my  own,  which  I  laid  l)efore  him),  until  he  came  to  the  latitude  of  47  degrees  ; 
and  that,  there  finding  that  the  land  trended  north  and  northwest,  with  a  broad 
inlet  of  sea,  between  47  and  48  degrees  of  latitude,  he  entered  tliereinto,  sailing 
therein  more  than  twenty  days,  and  found  that  land  trending  still  sometimes  north- 
west, and  northeast,  aiid  north,  and  also  east  and  southeastward,  and  very  much 
broadei  sea  than  was  at  the  said  entrance,  and  that  he  passed  by  divers  islands  in 
that  sailing  ;  and  that,  at  the  entrance  of  this  said  strait,  there  is,  on  the  northwest 
coast  thereof,  a  greiit  headland  or  island,  with  an  exceeding  high  pinnacle,  or  spired 
rock,  like  a  pillar,  thereu|)on.  Als(>,  he  said  that  he  went  on  land  in  divers  places, 
and  that  ho  saw  somf  people  on  laid  clad  in  lietwts'  skins;  and  that  the  land  is  very 
fruitful,  and  rioli  of  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and  other  things,  like  Nova  Spania.  Also, 
he  said  that  he  being  entered  thus  far  into  the  said  strait,  and  being  come  into  the 
North  Sea  already,  and  finding  the  sea  wide  enough  everywhere,  and  to  be  about 
thirty  or  forty  leagues  wide  in  the  mouth  of  the  straits  where  he  entered,  h<  thought 
he  had  now  well  discharged  his  otflcy;  and  that,  not  being  armed  to  resist  the  force 
of  the  savage  people  that  might  hapi)en,  he  therefore  set  sail  and  returned  home- 
wards again  towards  Nova  Spania,  where  he  arrived  at  Acapvdco,  Anno  1502,  hop- 
ing to  be  rewarded  by  the  Viceroy  for  this  .service  done  in  the  said  voyage.  *  »  * 
[Here  follows  an  account  of  his  vain  endeavors  for  three  years  to  secure  a  proper 
recognition  of  his  services  by  the  Viceroy  or  the  Spanish  monarch,  and  his  resolu- 
tion to  return  to  his  native  land  to  die  among  his  countrymen.]  Also,  he  said  i,:; 
thought  the  cause  of  his  ill  reward  had  of  the  Spaniards,  to  be  for  that  they  _. 
understand  very  well  that  the  English  nation  had  now  given  over  all  their  voyages 
for  discovery  of  the  northwest  passage;  wherefore,  they  need  not  fear  them  any 
more  to  come  tliat  way  into  the  South  Sea,  and  therefore  they  needed  not  his  ser- 
vice therein  any  more.  Also,  he  said  that,  underatanding  the  noble  mind  of  the 
Queen  of  England,  and  of  her  wars  against  the  Spaniards,  and  lioping  that  her 
majesty  would  do  him  justice  for  his  goods  lost  by  Captain  Candith,  he  wonlJ  be 
content  to  go  into  England  and  serve  her  niajsty  in  that  voyage  ,  r  !l;c  r?jn'>\{  -y 
perfectly  of  (he  northwest  pa.ssage  into  the  South  Se-i,  If  she  w<  uld  furiil.-!>    ."-ii 


STKAITS  (»K  .HTAN  DK   I'MICA    AND   IMVKK  OK   KINCS, 


39 


with  only  one  shi))  of  forty  tons  liunleu,  and  a  pinnace,  and  that  he  would  perform 
it  in  thirty  days'  time,  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  strait,  and  he  willed  me  so 
to  write  to  England.  And,  from  conference  had  twice  witli  the  said  Greek  pilot,  I 
di<l  write  thereof,  accordingly,  to  England,  unto  the  right  honorable  the  old  Lord 
Treasurer  Cecil,  and  to  f<ir  Walter  Jlaleigli,  and  to  Master  Uichard  Hakluyt,  that 
famous  cosmograj)her,  certifying  thein  hereof.  And  I  i)rayed  them  to  disburse 
£100,  to  bring  the  said  Greek  pilot  into  Phigland,  with  myself,  for  that  my  own 
purse  would  not  stretch  so  wide  at  that  time.  And  I  had  answer  that  this  action 
wa«  well  liked  and  greatly  desired  in  Kngland  ;  but  the  money  was  not  ready,  and 
therefore  this  action  died  at  that  time,  though  the  said  Greek  pilot,  perchance, 
liveth  still  in  liis  own  country,  in  C'ephalonia,  towards  which  place  he  went  within 
a  fortnight  after  this  conference  had  at  Venice. 

There  is  more  of  tlie  <locunieiit,  detailino;  ([iiite  a  correspondence 
between  Lock  and  the  (xreek,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  old 
pih>t  was  alive  in  1598,  l>-.it  that  in  KWl'J,  when  Lock  had  finished 
his  Imsin.^ss  in  Venice  Mid  was  pi-eparing  to  retnrn  to  Enghind,  he 
aihlre.'Jsed  a  letter  to  Fnca,  to  which  he  I'eceived  no  answer,  and  that 
a  sliort  time  afterwards  he  learned  that  the  (Ireek  was  dead. 

There  lias  l»een  much  controversy  among  historians  as  to  the 
antlienti'.'ity  of  this  document.  In  the  long  negotiations  between 
England  and  the  United  States  in  regard  to  t'le  location  of  the 
international  boundary  line,  it  was  vigoi-oiisly  snj)])orted  tn  the 
Amei'icans  and  a.s  earnestly  cond»ated  by  the  repi'esenttttives  of  Great 
Britain.  As  in  the  discussion  of  Sir  Francis  Drake's  voyage,  writers 
were  divided  strictly  upon  national  lines,  and  thus  are  subject  to  the 
charge  of  l)ias  and  jn'ejndice.  A  fair  examinaiion  will  convince  an 
im]»artial  ])erson  that,  although  it  is  not  im])ossible  the  voyage  was 
made,  tlie  prol (abilities  are  that  the  letter  of  Mr.  Lock  wasonecom- 
iv»sed  for  the  pur])ose  of  creating  a  sensation,  and  no  such  personage 
:■  .  Juan  de  Fuca  e\er  existed.  The  English  writers  seem  to  have 
espoused  the  ))etter  side  of  the  argument,  though  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  they  wonld  not  have  as  iea<li'.y  advocated  the  o|)posite 
one  had  tlie  interests  of  (Jreat  P»ru.;in  (•e(|nired  it.  The  i(uestion 
was  long  siiu-e  settled  and  ihe  boundary  established  at  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel  and  theStraitsof  Fuca;  and  now,  freed  from  national 
l»rejudice,  American  writers  generally  declare  their  belief  that  the 
voyage  of  the  (Jreek  pilot  was  a  myth.  Hrieiiy  presented,  the  argu- 
ments on  either  si<l<*  are  as  follows: — 

It  is  maintained  by  the  su|)j)orters  of  the  <locument  that  the 
statements  therein  contained  are,  many  of  them,  kiiown  to  b«'  true; 
that  in  itn  geographical  descriptions  it  is  nK)re  accurate  than  the 


40 


HISTORY  OF   WILLAMKTTK   VAI.LKY. 


report  of  any  prfvioiis  Spanish  voyaire;  that  the  fact  of  his  locating 
the  entrance  t»»  the  passage  hetween  hititudes  47  ami  4S  degrees, 
instead  of  4s  and  4V>  degives,  is  not  as  sei'ious  a>i  their  opponents 
assert,  since  much  greater  eri'ors  in  lt»cating  well-known  o]>jects 
appear  in  the  accounts  of  voyages  of  whose  authenticity  there  is  no 
dispute.  The  Spaniards  were  not  scientific  navigators,  and  their 
reports  hristle  with  errois  in  hititude,  while  longitiule  seems  to  iiave 
been  entirely  l>eyond  them.  This  lack  of  accuracy  prevente<l  them 
from  making  a  c<  xct  map  of  the  coast  line  <»f  California,  even 
after  they  had  expl(</  1  sailed  along  it  for  two  centui'ies.    There 

is,  also,  a  marked  abseu.  .>f  tliose  stereotyped  descriptions  of  won- 
derful cities  and  strange  peoples  which  seems  to  have  formed  such 
an  im])ortant  part  of  the  accounts  of  many  |>reviousand  sul»se([uent 
voyages.  A  careful  comj>arison  l>y  one  who  is  familiar  with  tlie 
jj:e()ofrai)h\' of  that  reirioii  will  convince  him  that  in  the  narrative  the 
Straits  of  Fuca  are  very  accurately  descrihed — with  tiie  excej)tion 
of  the  givat  rocky  pillar  on  the  northwest — es])ecially  in  the  fact 
that  the  land  north  of  tiie  straits  (  X'aucouver  Island)  trends  ttt  the 
northwest.  lie  sailed  in  the  jiassage  twenty  days,  finding  numerous 
islands  and  arms  of  the  ocean  running  in  all  directions,  and  finally 
emerged  into  the  Niu-th  Sea.  What  could  more  accurately  describe 
a  voyage  through  the  Straits  of  Fuca  and  (^ulf  of  (ieorgia,  l»etvveen 
Vancouvei'  Island  and  the  mainlaml,  until  the  open  ocean  was  again 
reached  on  the  uoithwest  ^  It  is  not  claimecj  that  he  enteivd  the 
Atlantic,  but  the  Xorth  Sea  of  Mal«l(»nado;  and  it  nuist  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  Straits  of  Anian  sis  then  understood^that  described 
by  Maldonado — was  a  long  jmssage,  leading  in  a  general  north  and 
south  direction,  c-onnecting  the  South  Sea  with  the  supposwl  North 
Sea,  and  that  to  reach  the  Atlantic  ivqiiii'ed  a  l<»ng  voyage  across  this 
North  Sea  and  through  the  Straits  of  Labrador.  It  must  be  a<lmit- 
ted,  then,  that  the  descriptions  given  in  Lctck's  acc(»unt  ai'e  wonder- 
fully accurate  if  they  are  wholly  inuiginary;  and  as  to  the  error  in 
latitude — a  matter  of  only  a  few  miles — aside  from  the  rejisons 
already  given,  may  it  not  be  accounteil  for  by  the  fact  that  the  nar- 
rative is  written  from  menutry  by  a  second  party  wh(t  had  received 
but  an  oral  account  of  the  vovaire^ 

The  chief  objection  to  the  voyage  is,  that  there  is  no  confirmatory 
evidence  whatever  to  support   it.     Neither  the  i-oyal   nor  colonial 


STKAITS  OF  JUAN  1)K  FUC'A    AND   KIVKK  OK   KINCJS. 


41 


records  of  Spain  contain  the  faintest  allusion  to  it,  although  other 
voyages,  and  especially  some  made  l)Ut  a  few  years  later,  ai'e  recorded 
at  length.  The  narrative  of  Lock  was  not  gi\en  to  the  public  until 
a  quarter  of  a  century  had  ela])sed,  and  evei'y  one  who  might  have 
had  any  j)ersonal  knowledge  of  it  avjis  proltahly  dead.  Richard 
Hakluyt,  one  of  the  three  gentlemen  to  whom  it  is  said  Lock  wi'ote 
in  relation  to  the  matter  from  Venice,  was  one  of  the  greatest  men 
of  his  age.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  geographer,  who  s})ent  much 
time  and  money  in  collecting  and  publishing  the  accounts  of  all 
important  voyages  ma<le  by  the  representatives  of  England,  or  any 
other  nation.  It  is  im])ossible  to  believe  that  he  could  have  been  so 
indifferent  to  the  sul)ject  of  L'-^-kV  letter,  since  the  Straits  of  Anian 
were  the  al)sorl)ing  geographical  <^nigma  of  the  times,  as  to  have  let 
the  matter  of  £100  prevent  him  from  bringing  the  Greek  pilot  to 
England;  and  it  is  e(pially  strange  that  no  hint  of  such  a  voyage  is 
given  in  any  of  his  works,  though  he  is  admitted  to  have  been  the 
most  thoi'ough  and  correct  geograj)her  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

An(^ther  objectit>n,  and  perha])s  the  strongest  one,  is  the  fact 
that  at  the  very  time  Juan  de  Fuca  is  asserted  to  liave  been  urging 
his  claim  for  a  reward  upon  the  King  of  Spain,  another  Spanish 
expedition  was  dispatched  in  search  of  the  Straits  of  Anian,  and  in 
the  letter  of  instructions,  which  details  at  length  the  reasons  for 
ordering  the  voyage,  no  allusion  is  made  to  Fuca  or  his  straits.  Had 
such  a  voyage  as  Fuca's  actually  })een  made,  this  second  expedition 
would  certainly  have  availed  itself  of  the  knowledge  thus  gained. 
Instead  of  doing  so,  the  record  of  that  voyage  conclusively  shows 
that  the  commander  must  have  been  utterly  ignorant  of  Fuca  and 
his  alleged  voyage ;  and  this  proves,  also,  that  he  could  have  had  no 
secret  instructions  on  the  subject. 

In  viewing  the  n.atter  critically,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
evidences  against  the  authenticity  of  the  voyage,  though  entirely  of 
a  negative  character,  greatly  outweigh  the  one  circumstantial  evi- 
dence in  its  favor — the  fact  that  a  passage  much  similar  to  the  one 
described  actually  exists  a  iew  miles  to  the  north  of  the  location 
fixed  in  the  narrative.  Juan  de  Fuca's  voyage  was  probably  a 
myth. 

The  third  and  last  mythical  passage  to  receive  popular  credence 
and  engage  the  attention  of  geographers  and  explorers  for  years, 


42 


IIISTOlfY  OK  WILLAMKTTE  VALLKY. 


was  the  River  of  Kings,  tlie  Tlio  <1e  los  Reyes  of  Atliuiral  Fonte. 
Like  the  iiaiTatives  of  Maldoiiado  and  Fuca,  this  did  not  reach  the 
public  until  many  years  had  elapsed  fi-om  the  time  assigned  to  the 
voyage,  and  this  fact  alone  is  almost  (ionclusive  evidence  of  its  man- 
ufactured character.  Such  a  voyage  as  any  of  these  would  have 
been  made  ])ublic  soon  after  its  completion,  so  eager  were  the  learned 
men  of  the  time  to  gain  all  the  information  possible  on  these  subjects. 
It  was  natural  for  a  person  inventing  such  a  tale  to  assign  a  date  so 
far  back  that  he  need  have  no  fear  of  a  personal  contradiction. 

A  magazine  entitled  Monthly  Miscellany,  or  Memoires  of  the 
Curious^  was  pul)lished  in  London  in  170S,  containing  a  long  ac- 
count of  a  voyage  alleged  to  have  been  made  in  1640,  sixty-eight 
years  previously,  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  and  return,  through 
a  system  of  rivers  crossing  North  America  al)out  the  fifty-third  par- 
allel The  man  who  is  credited  with  nuiking  this  wonderful  voyage 
is  Admiral  Pedro  Bartolonu'^  de  Fonte,  of  the  Spanish  Marine. 
According  to  the  account  given  in  this  magazine,  Admiral  Fonte 
was  instructed  by  the  Viceroy  of  Peru  to  ex2)lore  the  Pacific  cojust 
of  North  America  for  a  passage  leading  into  the  Atlantic,  and  to 
intercept  some  Boston  vessels  which  the  Viceroy  had  learned  had 
sailed  upon  the*  same  errand  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  He  sailed  from 
Callao  in  April,  1(>4(),  with  four  vessels.  At  Cape  San  Lucas  he 
dispatched  one  of  these  to  explore  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  with 
the  remaining  three  continued  up  the  coast.  In  latitude  oJi  degrees, 
after  sailing  a  long  distance  among  islands,  Avhich  he  christened  the 
"Archipelago  de  Lazarus,"  he  observed  the  mouth  of  a  great  river, 
which  he  decided  to  enter.  One  of  his  vessels  was  sent  further  up 
the  coast,  under  the  cimimand  of  Caj)tain  Bernardo,  while  with  the 
other  two  he  ascended  the  stream,  ^vhose  great  pro])ortions  won  from 
him  the  title  of  "  Rio  de  los  Reyes,"  or  "  River  of  Kings."  This  he 
followed  in  a  northeasterly  direction  a  long  distance,  finally  reach- 
ing its  source  in  an  inunense  lake,  which  he  named  "  Lake  Belle." 
This  was  the  country  of  a  wealthy  and  civilized  nation,  whose  chief 
town,  on  the  south  shore  of  the  lake,  was  called  Conasset,  and  who 
entertained  the  strangers  who  had  so  unexpectedly  come  among 
them  in  a  most  hospitable  manner.  This  lake  was  evidently  on  the 
summit  of  the  divide  between  the  ^vaters  of  the  two  oceans,  for 
flowing  from  it  in  an    opposite  direction  from  the  river  he  had 


STRAITS  OK  JTTAN  DE  FirCA    AND  UIVKH  OF  KFNOS. 


43 


ascended  was  another  large  stream,  which  he  caUed  "  Parmentier." 
Lea\nng  his  vessels  at  Conasset,  he  descended  the  Pariuentier  until 
he  entered  another  lake,  upon  which  he  bestowed  his  o^vn  name, 
from  which  he  passed  through  a  narrow  strait  into  the  Atlantic 
ocean.  This  last  passage  he  named  "  Strait  of  Ron(piillo,"  in  honor 
of  the  captain  of  one  of  his  vessels.  Thus,  through  a  continuous 
waterway  of  rivers  and  lakes,  he  h;ul  passed  through  the  entire  con- 
tinent of  North  America. 

When  that  story  was  written  the  author  little  dreamed  that  in  the 
latitude  assigned  to  this  wondeiful  passageway  the  continent  was 
more  than  five  thousand  miles  in  width.  Having  entered  the  At- 
lantic the  Admiral  soon  encountered  the  Boston  \essel  which  it  was 
feared-  had  designs  upon  the  Spanish  possessions  in  the  Pacific.  The 
captain  of  the  colonial  craft  was  Nicholas  Shapley,  and  on  board 
was  its  o\vner,  one  Seymour  Gibbons,  whom  Fonte  described  as 
"a  fine  gentleman,  and  major-general  of  the  largest  colony  in  New 
England,  called  Maltechusetts"  Fonte  decided  to  treat  these 
strangers  as  peaceful  traders,  and  the  repn^sentatives  of  these  two 
nations  indulged  in  a  series  of  mutual  entertainments  which  appear 
to  have  given  the  Admiral  gi'eat  satisfaction.  He  then  returned  to 
the  Pacific  l)y  the  route  he  had  come,  finding  his  vessels  waiting  for 
him  in  good  condition  in  Lake  Belle,  the  inhabitants  of  Conasset 
having  refrained  from  molesting  them.  At  the  mouth  of  the  River 
of  Kings  he  was  joined  by  Bernardo,  who  had  an  e([ually  wonder- 
ful tale  to  relate.  He,  too,  had  discovered  a  gi-eat  river,  in  latitude 
01  degrees,  and  had  ascended  it  to  its  soiu"ce  in  a  large  lake.  These 
he  called  "  Rio  de  Haro,"  and  "  Lake  Velasco."  From  the  lake  he 
fiscended  another  stream  in  canoes  as  high  as  the  seventy-ninth  par- 
allel, but  observing  the  land  "  still  trending  north,  and  the  ice  rested 
on  the  land,  he  l)ecame  satisfied  that  there  was  no  comnumication 
out  of  the  Atlantic  Sea  by  Davis'  Strait**;  for  the  natives  had  con- 
ducted one  of  his  seamen  to  the  head  of  Davis'  Strait,  which  termi- 
nated in  a  fresh  lake,  of  about  thirty  miles  in  circumference,  in  the 
eightieth  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  there  were  prodigious  moun- 
tains north  of  it."  He,  therefore,  returned  to  the  Pacific  to  rejoin 
his  commander.  Fonte  was  satisfied  from  the  report  that  the  Straits 
of  Anian  did  not  exist,  and  returned  to  Peru  to  report  that  fact, 


44 


HI8T0RV  OF  WILLAMKTTE  VALLEY. 


and  the  woiidevfnl   i-ivei-  loufe  he  had  discovered  thnmgh  the  con- 
tinent. 

This  whole  story  is  utterly  al)surd,  in  the  light  of  our  jwesent 
knowledge  of  geography,  hut  was  fai-  from  being  ^o  at  the  time  it 
was  promulgated.     Yet  it  eontains  enough  inconsistencies  ami  pal- 
pable errors  to  luiAe  even  then  condemned  it  in  the  eyes  of  a  critical 
reader.     The  statement  that  in  1(540,  (mly  ten  years  after  Boston 
vva,s  founded,  the  people  of  that  struggling  c(.lony  were  searching 
for  the  Straits  of  Anian  is  too  improl)aide  foi-  belief.     This  English 
historian  should  have  known,  also,  that  Massachusetts  was  ijoverned 
at  the  date  mentioned  )>y  John  Winthrop  and  not  by  Seymour  Gib- 
bons, whc^se  name  does  not  ai)pear  at  all  in  the  list  of  iVew  Entrland 
governors  or  "  maj( )r -genera  Is."     N,  ,t  the  slightest  reference  is  mmle 
to  it  in  the  records  of  Spain  or  Peru,  and  it  is  now  generally  con- 
ceded that  the  story  is  a  creation  of  James  Petiver,  an  eminent  nat- 
uralist, \\ho  ^\-as  a  frerpient  contributor  to  the  magazine  in  which  it 
first  appeared. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

VOYAGES  AND  EVENT8  OK  THE  HEVKNTKENTH  (JENTUHY. 

rhU'ip  orders  a  Voyage  along  the  Pac'ijic  Coaxt—lieAixonn  Aimlyned  hij 
Torquemada  and  Venegas —  Vlwulno  sent  out  hij  the  Vireroi/  in 
1596 —  Viscaino's  .second  Voi/age  in  100^2- -Raragen  of  the  Scui-vq— 
lie  Enters  Monterey  —Arg a tnent  of  the  Cktiin  that  he  Entered  San 

Franciaco  Bay     Earliest  Positioe  Knowledge  of  that  Harbor Vis- 

cai.no  goes  to   Latitude  4'2°  ami  returns  :  but  Aguilar  reaches  ^3° 

Vajje  Blanco  ami  the  River  of  Aguilar-  California  Supposed  to  be 
an  Island  Viscaino  dies  after  Obtaining  a  Royal  Mandate  to  occupy 
Monterey-Spain  Ceuses  all  Exploration  <f  the  Coast. 


A'^  the  vurioiis  roiuMUces  whu-h  luive  heeu  c-oiisideicd  were  all 
published  niauy  year.s  after  the  date  ay<cril>ed  to  the  voyages  of 
\vhieh  they  speak,  it  is  now  necessary  to  turn  hack  to  these  times 
and  see  what  wa,s  actually  l)eing  accomplished.  The  first  thin<^  to 
be  fouiid  affectiuir  Oregon  is  the  voyage  of  Sebastian  Viscaino.  It 
has  l)een  seen  that  at  the  very  time  when  Juan  de  Fuca  was  impor- 
tuning the  Spanish  monai'ch  for  recognition  of  his  services,  accord- 
ing to  Lock's  letter,  that  r(»yal  personage  ordere<l  a  survey  of  the 
Pacific  Coast.  The  i-easons  that  moved  Philij)  II.,  in  155U"),  to  issue 
his  royal  uuindate  tt)  the  Mexican  Viceroy  are  thus  set  forth  by 
Torquemada:— 

His  majesty  kwcw  that  the  viceroys  of  Mexico  imtl  endeavored  to  discover  a 
northern  passage,  and  lie  had  found,  among  his  father's  pajiers,  a  declaration  of 
certain  strangers,  to  the  e<r?ct  that  they  had  lieen  driven,  by  violent  winds,  from 
the  codfish  coa«t  on  the  At'aiitic,  to  the  South  .Sea,  through  the  Strait  of  Anian, 
which  is  beyond  Cape  Mendocino,  and  had,  on  their  way,  seen  a  rich  and  populous 
city,  well  fortified,  and  inhabited  by  a  numeroue  and  civilized  nation,  who  had 
treated  them  well;  as  also  many  other  things  worthy  to  bt>  seen  and  known.  His 
majesty  had  also  lieen  informed  that  ships,  sailing  from  China  to  Mexico,  ran  great 
risks,  particularly  near  Cape  Meiwlocino,  where  the  stones  are  most  violent,  and 
tiiat  it  would  be  advantageous  to  have  that  coa-xt  surve.\ed  thence  to  Acapulco,  so 


4r. 


niSTOKY  OK  WILLAMETTE  VALLKY. 


that  till!  Hhips,  mostly  belonginj?  to  hiw  majesty,  Hhoiild  find  places  for  relief  and 
refreshment  when  needed.  Whereupon  his  majesty  ordered  the  ('ount  de  Monte- 
rey, Viceroy  of  Mexico,  to  have  those  coasta  surveyed,  at  his  oivn  expense,  with  all 
care  and  diligence. 

ILilf  a  century  later  another  Spanisli  historian,  Venegaw,  gave 
the  foHowing  reasons  for  Spain's  an.xiety  to  become  better  infonnetl 
<»f  the  coast  above  Cape  Mendocino: — 

That  in  the  meantime  the  English  should  find  out  the  so-nmch-desired  passage 
to  the  South  Sea,  by  thu  north  of  America  and  above  California,  which  passage  is 
not  universally  denied,  and  one  day  may  be  found;  that  they  may  fortify  them- 
selves on  both  sides  of  this  passage,  and  thus  extend  the  P^nglish  dominion  from 
(he  north  to  the  south  of  America,  so  as  to  border  on  our  possessions.  Should 
English  colonies  and  garrisons  be  established  along  the  coast  of  America  on  the 
South  Sea  beyond  Cape  Mendocino,  or  lower  down  on  California  itself,  England 
would  then,  without  control,  reign  mistress  of  the  sea  and  its  commerce,  and  be 
able  to  threaten  by  land  and  sea  the  territories  of  Spain ;  invade  them  on  occasion 
from  the  E.,  W.,  N.  and  S.,  hem  them  in  and  press  them  on  all  sides. 

In  this  is  contained  no  hint  of  Juan  de  Fnca;  and  if  the  conduct 
of  men  can  be  considered  as  indicative  of  their  nu)tives,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  King,  the  Viceroy  and  the  coniuumders  of  the  vari- 
ous expeditions,  Avere  utterly  ignorant  of  the  Greek's  alleged  voyage, 
notwithstanding  Lock's  letter  states  that  the  old  pilot  had  in  vain 
urged  the  Viceroy  and  the  King  to  take  possession  of  the  Straits  of 
Fuca. 

The  Viceroy  of  Mexico  did  not  feel  an  interest  in  the  Straits  of 
Anian,  or  the  California  Coast,  deep  enough  to  render  him  eager  to 
explore  them  at  his  own  expense,  as  commanded  to  do  l)y  the  king; 
yet  he  dared  not  disobey  the  royal  mandate.  lie  made  a  showing 
of  compliance,  by  dispatching  Sebastian  Viscaino  from  Acapulco, 
in  the  spi'hig  of  159(5,  with  thi'ee  vessels.  These  did  not  jn'oceed 
beyond  Lower  California,  where  two  feeble  and  unsiicc«^ssfid  efforts 
were  made  to  plant  colonies,  leaving  the  great  objects  of  the  expe- 
dition untouched.  The  death  of  the  king,  in  1508,  served  as  an 
excuse  for  ceasing  even  these  feeble  efforts,  Avhich  made  extensive 
drafts  upon  the  Viceroy's  revenue.  The  respite  was  only  temporary, 
however,  for  Philip  IIL  followed  his  father's  ideas  on  the  subject, 
and  peremptorily  ordered  his  representative  in  Mexico  to  make  these 
explorations  without  delay. 

There  was  nothing  now  to  do  but  to  comply  with  the  King's 
command,  and  an  expedition  was  fitted  out,  composed  of  two  vessels 
and  a  small  fragata^  and   entrusted  to  tlie  command  of  Viscaino. 


VOYAGES  AND  EVENTS  OF  THE  SEVENTP:ENTII  OENTUKY. 


47 


Ico, 


Till' fleet  Huilcd  May  5,  1  ()()•_»,  from  Aoipiilco,  well  sii|»|)ll('(I  with 
]»il(>tH,  (Iraughtsii It'll  and  jn-iests — the  first  to  navigate  the  ships,  the 
second  to  make  nia])s  (»f  the  eoiist,  and  the  thii'd  to  kee])aii  aeeiirate 
account  of  the  voyage,  a  literary  feat  few  besides  priests  were  al»le 
to  acc()iin)lish  in  those  (hiys,  when  the  sword  was  mightier  than  the 
pen.  The  juiestly  autiiorship  of  the  records  of  the  voyage  is  fully 
attested  by  the  passage  in  Toriiiiemada,  which,  in  speaking  of  the 
head  winds  which  baffled  the  vessels  for  a  long  time,  says  that  they 
were  produced  "by  the  foe  of  the  human  race,  in  order  to  ju'eveiit 
the  advance  of  the  ships,  and  to  delay  the  discovery  of  tiiese  coun- 
tries, and  the  conversion  of  their  inhabitants  to  the  (  athoiic  faith." 
As  the  fleet  advanced  scurvy  made  its  a])j)earance  among  the 
seamen,  and  its  terrible  ravages  added  to  the  adverse  winds  to  con- 
vince the  priests  that  the  Evil  One  was  d(»iiig  his  utmost  to  oppose 
their  progress.  In  the  face  of  all  this  the  vessels  steadily  advanced 
iiortlnvard,  entering  successively  the  ports  of  San  Quentin,  San 
Diego  and  Monterey.  Sixteen  of  the  crew  having  died  and  many 
others  being  utterly  incapacitated  for  duty  by  the  horrible  malady, 
it  was  decideil  at  Monterey  to  send  one  of  the  vessels  back  with  the 
invalids.  This  ship  was  commanded  l)y  Torebio  (xomes  de  Corvan, 
and  reached  Acajmlco,  with  but  few  of  her  crew  alive,  after  a  voy- 
age whose  horrors  have  no  [)arallel  in  the  annals  of  the  sea.  On 
the  third  of  January,  1(103,  tlie  two  remaining  vessels  sailed  fi-om 
Monterey,  and  were  soon  afterwards  se[)arated  by  a  violent  storm, 
and  were  not  again  united.  Viscaino,  in  the  larger  (me,  instituted 
a  seai'cli  for  the  wreck  of  a  Manila  galleon,  which  had  been  cast 
away  on  this  part  of  the  coast  eight  years  before.  It  was  for  a  h)ng 
time  supposed  that  he  entered  San  Francisco  Harbor,  sir.,  e  Tortpie- 
mada  says:  "  He  anchored  ])ehind  a  point  of  rocks  calievi  La  Punta 
de  los  lieyes,  in  the  port  of  San  Francisco;"  but  that  idea  does  not 
seem  consistent  with  other  facts,  and  is  not  endorsed  by  the  best 
authorities.  It  does  not  seem  possible  that  an  explorer  could  have 
passed  the  Golden  Gate  and  entered  the  \vondei'ful  harbor  of  San 
Francisco  w^ithout  making  such  a  record  and  description  ot  it  as 
would  leave  no  room  for  error.  As  in  the  case  of  Drake,  Viscaino 
was  engaged  in  the  search  for  something,  which,  upon  entering  this 
beautiful  bay,  he  would  have  congratulated  himself  upon  discover- 
ing; and  he  certainly  would  have  taken  as  much  pains  to  describe  it 


4« 


HISTORY  OF   WILLAMETTK  VALLKT. 


as  he  (lid  other  and  comparatively  in^<i^nificant  places.  Viscaino 
was  seai'i'hiiii;  for  a  harl>or  of  refuge,  and  here,  in  the  most  desirable 
loeality  pt»ssil»le,  was  a  magnificent  liarhor  that  could  hold  the  fleets 
of  the  world;  yet  upon  his  return  to  Mexico  he  strongly  urged  the 
Viceroy  to  estaldish  stations  at  the  greatly  inferior  harhoi-s  of  San 
I)ieg«»  and  Monteivy,  an<l  said  nothing  about  San  Francisco  what- 
ever. In  all  prohaltility  the  port  he  entered  was  the  same  one  in 
which  Drake  had  anchored  twenty -five  years  before. 

Just  when  San  Francisco  Hay  was  discovered  is  uncertain.  The 
lii'st  time  Caucassians  are  known  to  have  visited  it  was  in  17<)i>, 
when  a  pai-ty  of  Spaniards  unexpecte<lly  came  upon  it  while  search- 
ing for  the  liay  of  Monterey,  and  gave  it  the  name  it  bears.  Yet  it 
is  almost  a  mattei"  (»f  certainty  that  some  one  must  have  visited  it 
long  before,  for  in  1  74"J  an  English  conunodore,  named  Anson,  ca[)- 
tured  an  East  Indian  galleon,  and  uyxm  a  chait  found  on  the  vessel 
apj)eare(l,  in  the  latitude  of  this  bay,  seven  little  dots,  marked  "  L( 
Farallones,'"  and  opj)osite  these  was  indicated  a  land-locked  liarbor 
somewhat  resembling  San  Francisco  Bay,  but  having  no  name  at- 
tached. It  seems  probable  that  the  existence  of  the  bay  was  known 
to  those  engaged  in  the  India  trade,  wdio  ke}jt  it  a  profound  secret, 
and  could  thus  pi-ofit  by  all  its  advantages  as  a  harbor  of  refuge, 
without  j)ermitting  it  to  become  a  rendey,vous  for  the  pirates  who 
preyed  upon  their  conunerce,  or  a  station  ft>i*  tlie  war  ships  of  hos- 
tile nations. 

On  the  twentieth  of  January,  Viscaino,  ha\ing  been  unsuccessfid 
in  his  search  for  the  wrecked  galleon,  again  sailed  noithward.  He 
proceeded  as  far  as  latitude  42",  where  he  ol)sei'ved  a  lai'ge  white 
bluff,  uj)on  which  he  bestowed  the  title  of  "San  Sebastian."  Dis- 
couraged by  the  unfavorable  weather,  the  terrible  sufferings  of  his 
crew  from  scurvy  an<l  the  ap})arent  loss  of  the  consort,  Viscaino 
turned  the  prow  of  the  Capitana  to  the  south,  and  made  his  way 
back  to  Mexico  as  raj)idly  as  possible.  When  the  stoiin  parted  the 
two  vessels  off  San  Francisco  Bay,  the  little  fragata,  which  wjis 
under  the  command  of  Martin  de  Aguilar,  continued  the  northern 
journey,  encountering  another  gale  in  the  vicinity  of  ("ape  Mendo- 
cino, fi'om  wdiose  fury  it  escaped  l)y  taking  refuge  in  some  sheltered 
place  on  that  portion  of  the  coast.  What  this  place  of  refuge  wa.s 
doe.s  not  appear,  but  Humboldt  Bay  and  the  Bay  of  Trinidad  seem 


VOYAGES  AND  EVENT8  OK  THE  HEVENTEENTII  CKNTI'KY 


4'.> 


to  be  the  only  ports  in  that  ivgion  capable  of  nlielteiing  a  vessel  from 
a  severe  storm,  ai"!  one  of  these  must  have  V)eeii  entere<l  by  the 
^rflfa/a  /  though,  if  such  is  the  case,  it  seems  strange  that  a  more 
extended  description  of  it  is  not  given.  The  subse<|uent  m<»\euients 
of  the  little  craft  are  thus  detailed  by  Tonpiemada: — 

When  the  wind  had  become  less  violent  tliey  continued  tlieir  joiirnfy  <"Uwe  alon^ 
tlie  shore,  and  on  the  nineteenth  of  January,  the  pilot,  Antonio  Floren,  found  that 
they  were  in  the  latitude  of  43°,  where  the  land  formed  a  cape  or  point,  which  wim 
named  "Cape  Blanco."  From  that  point  the  coast  beginn  to  turn  to  the  northwewt, 
and  near  it  was  discovered  a  rai)id  and  abundant  river,  witli  iwli  trees,  willows, 
brambles,  and  other  trees  of  Castile  and  its  banks,  which  they  endeavored  to  enter, 
but  could  not  from  the  force  of  the  current.  Ensign  Martin  de  Aguilar,  the  com- 
mander, and  Antonio  Flores,  the  pilot,  seeing  that  they  hiid  already  reachetl  a 
higher  latitude  than  was  ordered  by  the  Viceroy  in  his  instructions,  that  the  Vapi- 
tana  did  not  appear,  and  that  the  number  of  sick  whs  great,  ugreed  to  return  to 
Acapulco. 

They  never  peiformed  their  agreement,  for  when  the  fragata 
reachei]  Acapulco  both  the  commander  and  2)ilot,  as  well  as  the 
greater  portion  of  the  crew,  had  fallen  victims  to  the  scui'vy  and 
had  been  consigned  to  the  I)()som  of  the  great  unknown  ocean. 

It  is  un})os.sible  to  realize  the  dreadful  ravages  committed  by  that 
horriy)le  disease  among  the  explorers  of  those  early  times.  Every 
})rolonged  voyage  suffered  the  impress  of  its  blighting  finger.  Deatli 
took  passage  in  e\'ery  vessel  sent  into  unknown  \vaters.  English 
mariners  seem  to  have  suffered  less  than  did  the  Spaniards,  or,  in 
later  times,  the  Russians.  Of  the  sufferings  on  Ijoard  of  Aguilar's 
fated  craft  Torcpiemada  says: — 

Nor  is  the  leivst  case  to  be  expected  from  change  of  place,  as  the  slightest  motion 
is  attended  with  such  severe  pains  that  they  nmst  be  very  fond  of  life  who  would 
not  willingly  lay  it  down  on  the  first  appearance  of  so  terrible  a  distemper.  This 
virulent  humor  makes  such  ravages  in  the  body  that  it  is  entirely  covered  with 
ulcers,  and  the  poor  patients  are  unable  to  bear  the  least  pressure;  even  the  very 
•  lotlu's  laid  on  them  deprive  theui  of  life.  Thus  they  lie  groaning  and  incapable  of 
any  relief.  For  the  greatest  aasistjince  possible  to  be  given  them,  if  I  may  be  allowed 
the  expression,  is  not  to  touch  them,  nor  even  the  bed  clothes.  These  eflects,  how- 
ever melancholy,  are  not  the  only  ones  produced  by  this  ;  estilentlal  humor.  In 
many,  the  gums,  both  of  the  upper  and  lower  jaws,  are  pressed  both  within  and 
without  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  teeth  can  not  touch  one  another,  and  withal  so 
loose  and  bare  that  they  shake  with  the  least  motion  of  the  head,  and  some  of  the 
patients  spit  their  teeth  out  with  their  saliva.  Thus  they  were  unable  to  receive 
any  food  but  liquid,  as  gruel,  broth,  milk  of  almonds  and  the  like.  This  gradually 
brought  on  so  great  a  weakness  that  they  died  while  talking  to  their  friends.  *  * 
*  Some,  by  way  of  ease,  made  loud  complaints,  others  lamented  their  sins  with 
the  deepest  contrition,  some  died  talking,  some  sleeping,  some  eating,  some  whilst 
sitting  up  in  their  l)eds. 


50 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Siu-h  wHie  the  privatioiiis  aiui  afflictions  einlured  by  the  early 
explorei's  of  the  eoast  of  Oregon. 

A  fourtJi  geographical  (-nignia  wan  now  added  to  the  list  of  those 
which  pei'plexetl  the  seekers  {'or  a  Northwest  Passage;  though,  more 
])i-o|)erly  s[)eaking,  this  was  the  first,  since  knowledge  of  this  voyage 
was  spread  ahroad  several  years  Itefoi*^  Maldonado  entertained  the 
Council  of  the  Indies  with  his  clevei-  roijiaiice  a'wmt  the  Straits  of 
Anian,  <>r  Lock's  letter  gave  to  the  world  the  dubious  tale  of  Juan 
de  Fuca.  According  to  Torcpieniada,  :i  was  "supposed  that  this 
river  is  one  leading  to  a  great  city  which  was  discovered  by  the  Dutch 
when  they  were  driven  thither  l)y  storms,  and  that  it  is  the  Straits 
of  Anian  through  which  the  shij)  [uissed  in  sailing  from  the  North 
Sea  to  the  South  Sea,  and  that  the  city  called  Quivira  (the  one 
which  led  Coronado  such  a  dance  sixt}'  years  l»efore)  is  in  those 
paits;  and  that  this  highei"  latitutle  is  the  region  referred  t(»  in  the 
account  wliicii  his  majesty  read,  and  which  induced  him  to  order 
this  expnlido;!.'"  There  is  here  a  serious  discrepancy— an  error  of 
as  great  a  magnitude  as  the  one  cited  as  evidence  of  the  mythical 
character  of  the  alleged  voyage  of  Juan  de  l^^ica.  No  great  I'iver 
exist**  in  latitude  48°,  but  a  short  distance  U})  the  coast  is  the  Ump- 
([ua,  whic-li,  though  l)y  no  means  jis  great  a  stream  a.s  this  one  vvjw 
supjntsed  to  l»e,  may  he  considered  of  sufficient  j)ropoitions  to 
duty  as  the  River  of  Aguilar.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Rogue 
River,  some  uiiles  below  the  [)oint  indicated.  Chie  can  not  h"lp 
noticing  hei'e  the  foundation  of  the  "  River  t)f  Kiugs"  story  after- 
wards concocted  hy  Petiver.  The  great  I'iver  supjxtsed  to  lead 
through  the  continent,  an<l  the  large  city  some  distance  uj)  the  stream, 
both  a])pear  here  in  the  (M'iginal.  The  idea  that  this  wjus  the  Straits 
f>f  Aniaii,  or  anything  of  a  similar  nature,  did  not  long  obtain.  A 
few  yeai-s  later  it  wiis  conceived  that  this  and  the  C(»lorad<»  rivers 
were  the  two  ends  of  a  long  inland  channel,  which  united  in  sucli  a 
immner  jis  to  make  California  an  island.  This  theory  found  a  [dace 
upon  the  nuips  for  a  short  time,  till  it  was  discovered  that  the  Col- 
Oiv'do  led  off  ti>  the  northeastward  instead  of  toward  the  northwest. 
It  wa.x  thei,  sup|»osed  that  this  was  a  vast  river  flowing  from  un- 
known regi(»ns  in  the  heart  of  the  continent,  such  a  stream  a.^  the 
(/'(»hnnl)ia  wa><  in  later  years  found  to  be,  and  nnips  thereaftei-  bort^ 
upon  tlieni  an  indication  of  such  a  rivei',  hearing  the  name  "River 


VOYAGES  AND  EVENTS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  fENTIin'. 


51 


of  Aguilar,"  anl  varioun*  other  titles,  which,  with  the  reason  for  he- 
stowing  them,  will  appear  later  on  in  speaking  of  the  journey  of 
the  early  explorers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Viscaino  had  kept  in  view  the  chief  object  of  his  voyage — the 
discovery  of  a  suital)le  harlior  of  i-efuge  for  vessels  in  tlie  Manila 
trade — and  immediately  upon  liis  return  urged  upon  the  Viceroy 
the  desirability  of  esta})lishing  supply  stations  at  San  Diego  and 
Monterey,  the  only  suitable  harbors  he  had  encountered.  He  reported 
that  diligent  incpiiry  among  the  nations  had  elicited  the  information 
that  California  was  extremely  fertile  and  rich  in  the  [nvcious  metals. 
There  was  one  serious  objection  to  so  doing,  which  had  great  weight 
with  the  Viceroy.  lie  had  been  instructed  in  the  royal  decree  to 
accomplish  these  things  at  his  own  expense,  and  he  was  nuich  averse 
to  devoting  Ins  private  revenues,  which  were,  no  doubt,  very  con- 
siderable, to  the  accom])lishment  of  public  measures.  In  vain  Vis- 
caino  urged,  the  Viceroy  was  obdurate,  and,  at  last,  the  explorer 
went  to  8})ain  to  lay  the  mattei-  before  his  sovereign.  xVfter  several 
years  of  attendance  at  coiu't  he  succeeded,  in  1()<)(),  in  procuring  a 
royal  mandate  to  the  ^'iceroy,  directing  him  to  establish  a  supply 
station  at  Monterey.  While  preparations  for  doing  so  were  advanc- 
ing Viscahio  died,  and  the  Viceroy  seized  the  opj)ortunity  to  defeat 
the  projected  colony.  For  a  centiuy  and  one-half  thereafter  Spain 
made  no  further  attempt  to  ex])h)re  the  coast  noith  of  California. 
The  East  India  vessels  first  sighted  land  on  their  home  voyage  in 
the  vicinity  of  Ca])e  Men(h)cino,  and  then  folhtwed  the  coast  south 
to  Mexico;  l)Ut  north  of  that  the  Pacific  (.'oast  of  North  America 
remained  a  tc7'ra  incognita  foi'  ages.  The  secret  of  this  a))parent 
apathy  was  the  unwillingness  of  the  viceroy.-  to  explore  new  rt-gions 
at  their  own  expense.  There  is  a  traditior  floating  about  in  South- 
ern Oregon  that  one  of  these  galleons  was  driven  out  of  its  coui-se 
an<l  put  into  the  l;m])(jua  River  to  repair  dam.-igj's.  Indian  tiadi- 
tions  and  the  old  stumps  of  trees  are  iclied  upon  as  corroborative 
evidence;  thought  what  the  original  authority  is,  or  in  what  year 
the  event  is  said  to  have  occurre<l,  the  writer  has  been  unaV)le  to 
learn.  The  story  is  pn>bably  an  outgiowth  of  the  attempt  of 
Aguilar  tx>  enter  some  river  in  that  ivgion. 


CHAPTER  V. 

HUDSON'S  BAY,  CAPE  HORN,  AND  BEHRJNG'S  STRAITS. 

Discovery  of  Dams'  Straits — Henry  Hudson^  William  liuj/fn,  and 
other  Emplorers  in  the  North- Atlantic — Dutch  Nainyators  Discover 
the  Paasaye  around  Cope  Horn — Burcaneers  Swarm  into  the  Pacific 
hy  the  New  Route — Otondo  attempts  to  Colonize  Lower  California — 
The  Hudson'' s  Bay  Company  Chartered,  in  1009,  to  Discover  the 
Straits  of  Anian — Prlnleyes  Graiited  hy  the  Charter — The  Company 
Heads  off  all  Efforts  at  Explmntion — Russians  cross  Siberia  and 
Explore  the  Pacifc — Plans  of  Peter  the  Great — Discovery  of  Beh- 
ringh  Straits  and  Alaska —  Voyage  of  Tchirlkof — Behriny  Discovers 
Mount  St.  Ellas  and  Dies  on  Behrini/s  Isle — The  Early  E%ir 
Trade  of  the  North  Padfc—Benyowshy  Takes  a  Cargo  of  Ears  to 
Canton  and  thus  Reveals  the  Magnitiule  of  the  Pacific  Ocean — Rus- 
sian Idea  of  Alaskan  (ieography. 


s 


EVKKAL  iuiportaut  voyages  were  iiuule  ]>y  English  inarinei's  <ni 
the  Athiiitie  coast  in  searching  for  the  Noi-thwest  Pjissage,  all  of 
whicli  hear  a  close  relati(tn  to  the  more  direct  stej»s  taken  (»n  the 
Pacific  side  in  the  disc(»verv  of  Oregon.  In  IjSS,  at  the  time  set  in 
Maldonado's  romance  for  his  voyage  throngh  the  Straits  of  Anian,  a 
celebrated  English  navigator  .was  actnally  ex|>loring  the  seas  abont 
the  seventy-fifth  parallel.  This  was  John  Davis.  After  searching 
in  vain  for  a  j)assage  westward,  he  finally  discovered  Davis'  Straits, 
hut  was  compelled  to  return  to  P^ngiand  hefore  making  a  thorough 
exploration  of  th«'m,  leaving  in  douht  the  (piestion  of  whether  through 
them,  or  hy  some  hody  of  water  coiuiecting  with  them,  the  Pacific 
might  not  he  reached.  Ahont  the  same  time  the  great  fi-eehooter, 
Thonnus  C^avendish,  returned  with  his  vessel  laden  with  tin-  plunder 
of  the  South  Sea,  and  Davis,  dazzled  hy  the  glittering  pr(tsj>ect  of 
great  wealth  t<»  Im'  gained    hy  plunch^iing   the  Sj)anish  <omnjerce» 


Hri)S()\'s   BAY,  CWK  H()K^,   AND   RKHIMNo's  STKAI'I'S. 


O.'i 


abandoned  liis  search  for  the  Northwest  Passage  and  sailed  with 
Caveiidisli  u|)(»n  his  seeoiul  ex])edition  to  the  Paciiic,  a  voyage  which 
ended  in  signal  disjister. 

In  Kios,  Ileni'y  Hudson,  bent  upon  tlie  same  errand  as  Davis, 
explored  the  Xoi'th  Atlantic  coast.  lie  entered  Hudson's  Bay  and 
partially  examined  it;  and  though  he  l)est<»wed  his  name  upon  the 
l>ay,  a.s  well  as  tlie  straits  leading  to  it,  he  w  is  hut  following  the 
course  pursued  a  century  hefoiv  by  ("oi'tereal.  William  Baffin  was 
the  next  n()t<'(l  mai'inei-  to  navigate  these  seas.  In  KJIH  he  sailed 
north,  between  America  and  (Jr«*enland,  into  Baffin's  Bay.  Other 
explorei's  followed  in  the  wake  of  tliese  m«»i'e  noted  ones,  and  exam- 
ined the  coast  cai'efully  as  high  ii.s  the  seventy-fifth  parallel.  It  was 
of  no  use;  the  Sti'aits  of  Anian  coidd  not  be  found,  (xeographei's 
Itecame  satisHnl  that  if  discovere<l  at  all  they  would  be  found  lead- 
ing westward  from  some  arm  of  Hudson's  Bay  which  had  been  but 
l)artially  exj)loied.  England  soon  became  convulsed  l>y  civil  war 
Itetween  the  peo])le  and  the  House  of  Stuai't,  and  America  waw  neg- 
lected for  half  a  century.  Meanwhile,  an  important  discovery  wjus 
ma(h'  in  an  opp(»site  dii-ection,  one  most  di>;isrrous  to  ihe  Pacitic 
connnerce  of  Spain. 

While  Baffin  was  jtui'suing  his  search  among  the  iceViergs  and 
floes  of  the  Arctic,  two  Dutch  navigators,  \  an  Sch»)Uten  and  Le- 
maire,  passed  south  of  tiie  Straits  of  Magellan  and  'liscovere<l  the 
open  sea  connecting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  They  rounded  Cape 
Hoi'u,  which  they  thus  cliristened — in  memt»ry  of  the  place  of  their 
nativity,  "Holland'* — and  entered  the  South  Sea  without  en<  initev- 
ing  the  dangers  attending  a  passage  tlu'ough  the  Straits  of  jM.igellan, 
or  meeting  the  Spanish  sliips  of  war  which  guarded  the  entrance  to 
that  narrow  j)assageway.  Here,  now ,  wa«  a  r«)ute  open  to  all  nation!*  ^ 
— one  which  Spain  could  neither  monopolize  nor  defeiul.  Spai  'U- 
tinmdly  involved  in  Euroj)ean  wars,  was  now  exposed  to  attack  in 
her  most  vital  part.  From  America  and  the  Indies  came  the  revenue 
with  which  she  now  made  war  ui)on  Entrland  and  France,  oi>i)ressed 


.pp 


the  Netherlands  and  sustained  the  terrible  In([uisition.  Privateers 
of  the  three  hostile  nations  swarmed  into  the  South  Sea  and  plun- 
dered her  connnerce.  Buccaneers  attacked  the  Spanish  possessions 
in  America  from  both  the  Atlantic  and  Paciflc  sides.  Especially 
did  the  Dutch  aid  in  tliis  way  the  desperat«'  struggle  of  the  Nether- 


:)4 


HISTORY   UK    WILLAMKTTK   VALI.KY 


lands  for  li.(le|)en<K'nre  from  Spanish  rule.  The  (riilf  of  California 
Ixvanie  their  rallyinir  place,  their  s[>eoial  rendt'zvous  heini;  the  Bay 
of  Piehilinuue,  wliiih  won  for  them  the  title  of  " Piehilintrues,"  a 
name  both  feared  and  hated  l>y  the  mariners  of  Spain.  From  this 
rt'treat  they  issued  to  eommit  their  ravaires,  and  often  returned  with 
the  rich  prize  of  a  Manila  galleon.  The  feelde  efforts  of  Spain  to 
dislodije  these  Uold  maraudeis,  who  wer<'  literally  drawing  the  life 
blood  of  the  nation,  were  of  no  avail.  Several  times  she  made 
great  preparations  to  exterminate  them,  but  even  if  driven  out  they 
returned  again  in  greater  munbers  as  soon  as  the  way  was  open. 
F^inally,  in  1()8.'{,  an  effoi-t  was  nnule  to  plant  a  e(dony  in  L(»wer 
California,  which  slntuld  serve  as  a  basis  for  keeping  the  gulf  five 
from  pirates,  and  of  rescuing  from  threatene<l  attack  the  annual 
galleon.  Admiral  Don  Isdro  de  (Hondo  was  at  the  head  of  this 
expedition,  which  consisted  of  sohliers,  settlers  and  Jesuit  [)rieHts. 
For  three  years  the  effort  was  sustaine<l  in  the  face  of  drouth  and 
sterile  soil,  and  then  the  c(dony  was  abandoned;  the  last  act  being 
to  rescue  and  convey  safely  to  port  the  Manila  galleon,  whose  safety 
was  threatened  by  the  dreaded  [U'ivateei-s. 

When  the  l(»ng  fratricidal  war  in  Fhigland  was  over  and  the  son 
of  the  murdered  king  was  set  upon  the  throne,  attention  was  once 
more  directed  toward  America.  The  belief  that  the  Straits  of 
Anian  could  be  found  only  in  Hudson's  Hay  was  then  a  general 
one,  and  to  aid  in  its  discovery,  in  l«)ti5>,  Charles  the  II.  grante<l 
almost  royal  privileges  in  America  to  a  company  of  his  subjects. 
Such  were  the  relative  importance  in  those  days  of  the  rich  com- 
merce of  the  Indies  and  the  Arctic  wilds  of  unexplored  America. 
Reports  of  the  valuable  fnrs  to  be  obtained  from  the  natives  along 
the  coast  which  were  made  by  the  old  explorers,  and  the  hope  that 
other  and  even  more  valuable  articles  coidd  l>e  obtained  in  trade 
with  the  Indians,  led  to  the  organization  of  a  company  to  engage 
in  that  profitable  business.  They  applied  to  the  King  for  a  royal 
charter,  which  was  granted  in  consideration  of  their  agreement  to 
search  for  the  nuich-desired  Straits  of  Anian.  Tin  two-fold  object 
— that  of  the  King  and  that  of  the  company — was  expressed  in  the 
charter  which  created  "The  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England 
Trading  into  Hudson's  Bay."  This  object,  as  expressed,  was  "for 
the  discovery  of  a  new  passage  into  the  South  Sea.  and  for  the  find- 


HI'DSON  S   HAY,  f-APK   MOHN,   AND   BKItKINOS   STltAITS. 


00 


iiii;  <»f  some  fnule  in  furs,  minerals  and  otlier  considerahle  commo- 
dities." The  comjtany  was  granted  the  exchisive  right  of  the 
"trade  an<l  commerce  of  all  those  seas,  straits  and  Imys,  rivers, 
lakes,  creeks  and  sounds,  ii;  whatsoever  latitude  they  shall  be,  tliat 
lie  within  the  entrance  of  the  straits  commonly  calle<l  Hudson's 
Straits."  ( )f  this  region,  which  embraced  all  that  vast  territory 
whose  water  shed  is  into  Ihnlson's  Hay,  this  company  was  given 
absolute  control  to  the  exclusion  t»f  all  persons  whomsoever.  It 
was  constituted  "for  all  time  hereafter,  capable  in  law,  to  have, 
purchase,  receive,  possess,  enjoy  and  retain  lands,  rents,  privileges, 
libeilies,  jm"isdicti(»n,  franchise  and  heieditaments  of  what  kind, 
nature  or  (puility  soevei-  they  be,  to  them  and  their  successors;" 
and  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  "visit,  hunt,  frequent,  trade, 
'traffic  or  adventure "  therein  without  permission  of  the  company. 
The  annual  rent  of  this  great  empire  was  "two  elks  and  two  black 
beavers,"  which  the  King,  if  he  desired  to  have  it  paid,  must  go 
upon  the  land  and  collect  foi'  himself.  The  company  has  few  rent 
receipts  to  exhibit.  This  is  the  organization  known  in  history  as 
the  lludson^s  Bay  Company,  a  name  vivid  in  the  memory  of  Oregon 
pioneers.  What  a  sjtlendid  thing  this  charter  was  to  the  company, 
and  what  an  <)bstacle  it  became  in  the  pathway  of  England's  pro- 
gress in  America,  will  a[)[)ear  as  tiiis  narrative  unfolds.  But  for 
the  selfish  ptdicy  of  the  Hudson's  liay  Company,  Oregon  would 
to-day  be  a  province  of  (rreat  Britain. 

The  company  soon  learned  that  their  true  interests  lav,  not  in 
finding  the  Northwest  Passage,  but  in  [treventing  the  discovery  of 
it  altogether.  They  were  able  to  accomplish  this  and  to  hold  the 
government  and  everv  one  else  not  connected  with  the  organization 
in  conn>lete  ignorance  of  the  region  in  whi«'h  they  were  doing  a 
Inisiness  which  assumed  gigantic  pi'oportions  in  a  few  years.  Thus 
it  happened  tinit  no  more  efforts  of  conse(iuence  were  made  V)y 
England  to  discover  the  Straits  of  Anian  for  a  whole  century  after 
the  granting  of  this  nuignificent  charter,  the  com|»any  being  able  to 
prevent  or  bring  to  grief  all  e\])e(liti<»ns  of  this  character.  Such 
was  the  soulless  conduct  of  this  corporate  nionopolv  to  the  govern- 
ment to  which  it  owed  its  very  existence. 

From  the  time  Aguilar's  little  vessel  conveyed  her  atHictcd  crew 
back  to  Mexico  in  KJO.'i,  more  than  a  century  jiassed  before  another 


5(1 


HISTOKY  OK    WILLAMKTTK   V'AliLKY. 


voyage  was  attempted.  Not  a  vessel  cast  its  shadow  upon  the 
waters  of  the  North  Pacific,  nor  a  Caucasian  eye  ga/e<l  upon  the 
mountain  peaks  that  stand  like  ancient  sentinels  aloui;^  our  coast. 
Suddenly  interest  in  this  region  was  revived,  and  initial  steps  were 
taken  by  a  power  previously  supposed  to  have  no  interest  whatever 
in  the  American  (juestion.  The  sudden  rise  of  Russia  from  obliv- 
ion to  a  high  rank  among  the  powers  of  the  world,  a  jwolution 
wrought  by  the  genius  of  the  enlightened  monarch,  Petei'the  Great, 
is  one  of  the  marvels  of  history.  Gradually  he  extended  his  power 
eastward  across  the  snowy  wastes  of  Siberia  until  his  dominions 
were  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  beating  upon  the  Penin- 
sula of  Kamtchatka.  The  fur  trade  of  this  \ast  solitude  became 
a  valuable  one,  and  added  to  the  great  revenue  of  the  CV.ar.  Hav- 
ing reached  the  Pacific  he  l)ecame  eager  to  extend  his  p()\ver  still 
further  eastward  until  it  touched  the  western  confines  of  the  de- 
pendencies of  England,  France  and  Spain  in  America.  H<>w  far 
that  was,  or  what  was  the  nature  of  the  region  coveted,  neither  he 
nor  any  one  else  had  the  faintest  glimmering  of  knowledge.  It 
might  be  a  great  ocean  of  valueless  water,  a  sea  filled  with  islands, 
a  continent  of  ice,  or  a  land  of  plenty,  "  flowing  with  milk  an<l 
honey."  No  one  knew;  but  this  powerful  autocrat  pi'oposed  to 
find  out.  His  first  step  was  to  discover  a  waterway  into  the  Pacific 
fi'om  tile  Arctic  Ocean  which  washed  his  dominions  on  the  north — 
just  such  a  passage  as  the  English  nuu'iners  had  searched  for  in 
vain,  though  he  expected  to  reach  it  by  going  east  instead  of  to  the 
west.  He  ordered  vessels  to  be  constructed  at  Ai'changel,  on  the 
White  Sea,  for  the  purpose  of  coasting  in  the  Arctic  eastward  along 
the  shores  of  Si])ei'ia  until  an  opening  was  discovered  into  the  Pa- 
cific. Other  vessels  were  to  be  constructed  on  the  coast  of  Kam- 
tchatka, which  wei"e  to  take  an  opposite  course  and  endeavor  to 
pass  northward  into  the  Arctic.  Peter  died  before  his  ])lans  were 
executed,  and  the  [)roject  was  held  in  abeyance  for  se\'eral  years. 

The  Empress  Catherine  was  a  worthy  successor  of  her  noble 
husband,  and  wlien  firndy  settled  upon  the  throne  she  turned  her 
attention  to  completing  the  work  he  had  begun.  In  172H,  in  ac- 
cordance with  her  instructions,  vessels  were  built  on  the  coast  of 
Kamtchatka,  which  were  dispatched  in  search  of  the  desired  pas- 
sage between  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Pacific.     In  command  of 


HUDiSON's   BAY,  CAFK    HOUX,   AND  BKnUlN<rs  STKAITS. 


57 


the  expedition  was  Vitus  Behriiii!;,  a  Daiiisli  navigiitor  of  skill  and 
experience,  in  whose  charire  the  former  exploration  was  t(»  have 
been  placed  hy  Peter.  Russia  was  not  a  maritime  nation,  and  her 
seamen  were  in  no  maimer  scientific  navigators,  hence  the  selection 
of  this  skillful  Dane  for  the  conmiand  of  so  important  an  expedi- 
tion. Behring  sailed  on  the  fourteenth  of  July,  and  followed  the 
coast  northerly  in  his  little  vessel  until  he  found  it  trending  steadily 
to  the  westward.  From  this  fact  he  V)ecame  convinced  that  he  had 
already  entered  the  Arctic  and  was  sailing  along  the  northern  coast 
of  Asia;  and  being  unprepared  for  a  long  voyage,  or  the  possibility 
of  being  compelled  to  spend  the  winter  in  the  ice,  he  returned  at 
once  to  the  port  of  embarkation.  The  highest  point  reached  was 
<?7°  IS,'  but  the  longitude  is  not  given.  Neither  going  nor  retin-n- 
ing  through  the  straits  did  he  espy  the  coast  line  of  America,  foggy 
and  cloudy  weather  obscuring  it  fi'om  view,  and  consequently  he 
reported  upon  his  return  that  a  gi'eat  open  sea  lay  to  the  eastward 
of  Asia,  joining  the  Pacific  Ocean  with  the  Arctic.  The  next  year 
he  endea\'ored  to  cross  this  ocean  and  reach  the  shore  of  America 
by  sailing  directly  eastward.  In  this  attempt  he  was  l)af!led  by 
head  winds  and  was  driven  by  a  gale  into  the  Gulf  of  Okotsk.  He 
abandoned  the  effort  and  returned  to  St.  Petersl)urg  to  report  his 
discoveries.  During  the  few  succeeding  years  a  number  of  smaller 
expediti(ms  were  made  by  Russian  subjects;  one  of  these  being 
driven  upon  the  Alaskan  coast  in  \7lV2,  when  it  was  discovered  that 
not  an  oi)en  sea  but  a  strait  connected  the  two  great  oceans.  Upon 
this  was  bestowed  the  name  of  the  Danish  explorer — the  pioneer 
navigator  of  the  North  Pacific. 

C'athcrine  died,  and  after  the  conse<pient  delay,  her  successor, 
tlie  Em])ress  Anne,  fitted  out  an  expedition  for  the  purpose  of 
expl(»ring  on  a  more  extendi^d  scale  than  had  ])i'eviously  l>een  done. 
This  consis(;cd  of  two  vessels,  Rehring  being  in  connnand  of  one, 
and  Alexei  Tchirikof,  a  Russian,  who  had  been  his  lieutenant  on  the 
first  voyage,  of  the  other.  Anne  die<l  before  the  expedition  was 
ready  to  sail,  but  Kli/.abcth,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne,  did  not 
intei-fere  with  the  ])lans  which  had  been  laid,  and  the  two  consorts 
sailed  fi-om  the  Hay  of  Avatscha  <m  the  fourth  of  June,  1741.  They 
were  soon  sepaiated  in  a  gale  and  were  not  again  united.  Tchirikof's 
vessel,  the  67.  Pau/,  returned  on  the  eighth  of  October,  in  a  sad 


i 


58 


IIISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


plight.  She  had  reached  a  group  of  islands  in  latitude  5()°,  where 
sixteen  of  the  crew,  who  landed  to  make  a  reconnoisance,  were 
slaughtei-ed  l»y  the  Indians.  Besides  these,  twenty-one  more  suc- 
cumlted  to  the  lavages  of  the  scurvy  before  the  vessel  found  her  way 
hack  to  port. 

Sad  as  were  the  misfortunes  that  befel  the  crew  of  the  SL  Pau/, 
they  were  slight  conn)ared  with  the  disasters  which  crowded  upon 
their  comrades  on  Ixtard  the  i>/.  Petei'.  Behriui;  steered  a  south- 
easterly  course  for  many  days,  and  at  hust  reached  latitude  4<)°,  with- 
out having  encounteied  land.  This  is  the  latitu<le  of  the  Columbia 
River,  but  how  near  the  coast  of  America  he  approache<l  at  that 
point  is  not  recorded.  The  mysteries  of  longitude  seem  to  have 
been  beyond  the  penetration  of  the  exj)lorers  of  those  days.  Captain 
Cook,  nearly  iifty  years  later,  is  the  tirst  explorer  who  seems  to  have 
understood  the  necessity  of  locating  an  object  b)'  its  longitude  as 
well  as  its  distance  from  the  ecpiator.  Hehring  then  turned  his  prow 
to  the  northetist  and  continued  his  voyage  until  he  had  ascended  to 
the  sixtieth  degree,  when  he  discovered  land,  the  first  thing  to  meet 
his  gaze  being  a  giant  snow-croMiied  peak.  This  he  named  "Mount 
St.  Elias,"  in  honor  of  the  saint  whose  name  appeared  in  the  Rus- 
sian calendar  jis  patron  of  the  eighteenth  of  July,  the  date  of  the 
discovery.  The  .S7.  Peter  sailed  into  a  passage  leading  between  the 
mainland  and  a  large  island,  when  liehring  discovered  that  the  water 
wa.s  discolored,  as  though  it  had  been  discharged  from  a  large  river, 
the  volume  indicating  the  stream  to  be  the  water  drain  of  a  land  of 
continental  proportions.  That  this  was  America  no  one  on  board 
doubted.  The  sul)ordinate  officers  desired  to  explore  the  coast 
southward,  in  the  direction  of  the  Spanish  colonies,  I  nit  Behring, 
who  was  in  ill  health,  refused  to  do  so,  and  started  ui)on  the  return 
v<\yage.  They  made  but  slow  progress  among  the  islands  lying  to 
the  southwest  of  tlie  Peninsula  of  Alaska,  and  finally,  l»eing  driven 
by  a  severe  stortn  far  to  the  southward,  the  vessel  wandered  aimlessly 
about  for  two  months,  the  sjx)^  of  the  winds  and  ocean  currents. 
Horriltle  were  the  sufferings  of  the  crew.  Scurvy,  in  its  most  ghastly 
form,  preyetl  upon  them  unchecked.  Famine  and  disease  went 
hand  in  hand.  The  surgeon's  journal  says:  "The  general  distress 
and  mortality  in(;reased  so  fast  that  not  only  the  sick  dial,  but  those 
who  pretended  to  be  healthy,  when  relieved  from  their  posts,  fainted 


TAPE  HORN,   UUDSOX'S  BAY,   AM)  BKHKINCl's  STKAITS, 


5W 


and  fell  down  dead;  of  which  the  scantiness  of  water,  the  want  of 
biscuits  and  brandy,  cold,  wet,  nakedness,  veiinin,  and  teri(»r,  wei-e 
not  the  least  causes."  At  last  these  horrors  came  to  an  end.  On 
the  fifth  of  N(>vend)er  tliev  siijhted  a  small  island  Iviny  between  the 
Aleutian  Archipelago  and  Kamtcluitka,  and  runniuiii:  the  vessel  close 
in  they  all  landed,  with  the  purpose  of  s])endinij;  the  winter.  The 
island  wjts  a  small,  rocky  speck  on  tlie  ]>osom  of  the  sea,  consisting 
of  a  few  barren  granite  peaks  thrust  up  from  the  water,  whose  sides 
were  continually  Ifiwhed  by  a  lieavy  surf  and  upon  which  the  waves 
furiously  chv^hed  when  storms  swept  across  the  surface  of  the  ocean. 
Here  they  lived  uj)on  the  flesh  of  fiu'-bearing  animals  which  abounded 
in  the  water,  and  upon  the  fish  they  were  able  to  catch.  Their 
house  was  constructed  of  the  tind>ers  of  their  vessel,  which  was 
wrecked  upon  the  rocky  coast  during  a  gale  inunediately  after  the\' 
disembarked,  and  whose  broken  pieces  were  washed  up  by  the  surf. 
Their  sufferings  did  not  end  with  their  removal  to  this  new  abode. 
Disease  had  taken  too  firm  a  grasp  up<m  that  afflicted  crew.  Heh- 
ring  died  on  the  eighth  of  December,  and  l>efore  sjiring  thirty  of 
his  followers  also  found  a  grave  on  those  water- l)ound  rocks.  The 
skins  of  slaughtered  animals  served  them  foi'  l)oth  clothes  and  bed- 
ding. Had  this  island  been  located  at  the  same  latitude  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  not  one  of  these  enfeel)led  men  could  have  siu'vived 
the  rigors  of  winter.  Here  the  great  ocean  river,  known  as  the 
Japan  Current,  imparts  its  genial  warmth  to  the  islands  of  the 
Aleutian  Archipelago  and  fringes  the  icy  peaks  and  glaciers  of 
Alaska  with  a  coast-line  of  verdure.  Owing  to  tliis  great  modify- 
ing element  even  floating  ice  fi'om  the  frozen  Arctic  is  not  seen  in 
Behring's  Sea,  though  on  the  Atlantic  side  the  ocean  is  rendered 
unsafe  by  floes  and  icebergs  at  a  much  lower  latitude.  Upon  the 
return  of  spring  the  survivoi-s  constructed  a  small  vessel  from  the 
wreck  of  the  S^.  Peter^  and  when  that  long  task  was  finislnHl,  em- 
barked and  sailed  directly  westward,  reaching  the  Bay  of  Avatscha 
in  August.  That  bleak  island  which  had  been  their  winter  home, 
and  where  were  the  graves  of  their  commander  and  many  of  their 
comrades,  they  christened  "Behring's  Isle,"  and  as  such  it  is  known 
to  the  present  day. 

Twenty  years  elapsed  before  another  official  exploration  was 
made,  and  half  a  century  passed  ere  the  full  account  of  this  fatal 


\ 


60 


IIISTOKV   OK  AVIliLAMKTTK   VALLKY. 


one  was  puhlislied  to  tlic  world.  AccompaMying  Hrhriiig  on  the 
.SV.  Peter  was  a  (Trenuan  surgeon  iiiid  st-icntist  named  Steller,  and 
his  jonrnal,  wliicli  was  not  puhlishcd  until  1795,  long  after  the 
Alaskan  coast  had  hcMi  thoroughly  exjdored  by  Spanish,  Russian, 
English  and  American  na\igators,  is  the  oidy  record  })reserved  of 
the  adventures  and  terrihlc  sufferings  endured  by  the  discoverers  of 
^Vlaska.  The  general  features  of  the  voyage,  however,  were  well 
known  in  Europe  soon  after  its  fatal  termination.  The  skins  which 
the  survivoi's  wore  when  they  retui-ned  to  A\atscha  were  found  to 
be  exceedingly  valuable — prol)ably  seal  and  sea-otter— and  several 
private  expeditions  were  fitted  out  by  Russian  traders,  to  visit  the 
islands  lying  to  the  eastward,  in  search  of  fnrs.  In  this  way  the 
fur  trade  of  the  Pacific  began,  and  before  the  government  was  pre- 
pared for  another  ex[)edition  this  trade  had  i-eached  considerable 
projiortions.  (ireeidiow  thus  describes  the  infancy  of  this  great 
industry: — 


The  trade  thus  commenced  was,  for  a  time,  carried  on  by  individual  adventurers, 
each  of  whom  was  alternately  a  seaman,  a  hunter,  and  a  merchant;  at  length, 
however,  some  capitalists  in  Sil)eria  employed  their  funds  in  the  pursuit,  and  expe- 
ditions to  the  islands  were,  in  consequence,  made  on  a  more  extensive  scale,  and 
with  greater  rej?ularity  and  efticiency.  Trading  stations  were  established  at  partic- 
ular points,  wliere  the  furs  were  collected  by  persons  left  for  that  object ;  and  vessels 
were  sent,  at  stated  periods,  from  the  ports  of  Asiatic  Russia,  t«  carry  the  articles 
required  for  the  use  of  the  agent-s  and  hunters,  or  for  barter  with  the  natives,  and 
to  bring  away  the  skins  collected. 

The  vessels  employed  in  this  commerce  were,  in  all  respects,  wretched  and  inse- 
cure, the  planks  being  merely  attnched  together,  without  iron,  by  leathern  thongs  ; 
and,  as  no  instruments  were  used  by  the  traders  for  determining  latitudes  and  lon- 
gitudes at  sea,  their  ideas  of  the  relative  positions  of  the  places  which  they  visited 
were  vague  and  incorrect.  Their  navigation  was,  indeed,  performed  in  the  most 
simple  and  unscientifii!  manner  possible.  A  vessel  sailing  from  the  liay  of  Avatscha, 
or  from  Cape  Lopatka,  the  southern  extremity  of  Kamtchatka,  could  not  have  gone 
far  ea.stward,  without  falling  in  with  one  of  the  Aleutian  islands,  which  would 
serve  lus  a  mark  for  her  course  to  another;  and  thus  she  might  go  on  from  point  to 
point  throughout  the  whole  chain.  In  like  manner  she  would  return  to  Asia,  and 
if  her  course  and  rate  of  sailing  were  observed  with  tolerable  care,  there  could 
seldom  be  any  uncertainty  as  to  wJiether  slie  were  north  or  south  of  the  line  of  the 
islands.  Many  vessels  were,  nevertheless,  annually  lost,  in  consequence  of  this 
want  of  knowledge  of  the  coast,  and  want  of  means  to  ascertain  positions  at  sea ; 
and  a  large  number  of  those  engaged  in  the  trade,  moreover,  fell  victims  to  cold, 
starvation  and  scurvy,  and  to  the  enmity  of  the  bold  natives  of  the  islands.  Even 
EH  late  as  18(K»,  it  was  (ralculated  that  one-third  of  these  vessels  were  lost  in  each 
year.  The  history  of  the  Russian  trade  and  establishments  in  the  North  Pacific, 
is  a  series  of  details  of  dreadful  disasters  and  sufTerings ;  and,  whatever  opinion  may 
be  entertained  a.i  to  the  humanity  of  the  adventurers,  or  the  morality  of  their  pro- 


f'Al'K  IIOHN,  HUDSON  S  HAY,   AND  HKllIMN(i  S  STRAITS. 


<n 


cpedlnga,  the  couraj^c  iind  pfrHeveriiiice  displayi'd  hy  tlifiii,  in  Htru^rgliii^  af^ainst 
Hueh  appalling  dittlculties,  rnUHt  command  uiiivei-sal  admiration. 

The  furs  collected  by  thf«t' mcanH,  at  Avatneha  and  ()chot>»k,  the  i)rincipal  fur- 
trading  pointH,  were  carrierl  to  Irkutsk,  the  capital  of  Kastern  Silieria.  wliencc  Home 
of  them  were  taken  to  P^urope;  the  greater  portion  were,  however,  .sent  to  Kiakta, 
a  small  town  just  within  the  Russian  frontier,  close  to  the  Cliincse  town  of  Maimat- 
chin,  through  which  places  all  the  eonuuerce  l)etween  these  two  empires  passed, 
agreeably  to  a  treaty  concluded  at  Kiakta  in  172K.  In  return  for  the  furs,  whicli 
brought  higlier  prices  in  China  tliaii  anywhere  else,  teas,  tol)acco,  rice,  porcelain, 
and  silk  and  cotton  goods,  were  iiroughl  to  Irkutsk,  where  all  the  most  valuable  of 
these  articles  were  sent  to  Europe.  These  transportations  were  effected  by  land, 
except  in  some  places  where  the  rivers  were  used  as  the  channel  of  conveyance,  no 
commercial  exportation  having  been  made  from  Kastern  Russia  by  sea  before  177!t; 
and  wb.en  the  immense  distances  between  some  of  the  points  above  mentioned  are 
considered  (Irkutsk  to  Pekin,  1,8(K)  miles;  to  Hay  of  Avatscha,  S.+'iO  nnles;  to  St. 
Petersburg,  3,7(>0  ndles),  it  beconn  s  evident  that  none  but  olijects  of  great  value,  in 
comparison  with  their  bulk,  at  the  ])lace  of  their  <'onHumption.  could  have  been 
tluis  transported  with  proHt  to  those  engaged  in  the  tra<le,  and  that  a  large  portion 
of  tlie  price  paid  by  the  consumer  must  liavi'  lieen  al)sorl)t'd  l)y  the  expense  of  trans- 
portation. A  skin  was,  in  tact,  worth  at  Kiakta  three  times  as  much  as  it  cost  at 
Oehotsk. 

For  veai's  the  furs  were  cointncd  to  l^ckin  juid  St.  I'eter.s1»tirir 
ovei'lantl,  as  descrllK'd  above,  China  l>eing  then,  as  now,  the  <;eneral 
fur  market  of  the  woi'hl.  Not  until  1771  was  a  earj^o  taken  directly 
by  sea  to  Canton,  and  not  until  then  was  it  known  that  the  Bay  of 
Avatseha  and  the  Chine.se  Sea  were  eonnected  by  water.  Foi"  the 
first  time  was  realized  the  inunense  magnitude  of  the  Paeific;  that 
the  same  waters  which  beat  U[)on  Beliring's  Isle  washed  the  shores 
of  the  thousand  islands  of  the  South  Sea,  gazed  up  at  the  frowning 
rocks  of  Cape  ll<»rn,  and  bore  the  Spanish  galleons  on  their  long 
voyage  from  Acapulco  to  the  Indies.  This  innovation  was  not  by 
any  means  the  result  of  Russian  enterprise.  A  few  of  the  patriotic 
defenders  of  Poland,  who  had  been  e.xiled  to  Siberia  by  the  Russian 
Czar,  made  their  e.scape  in  a  small  vessel  from  a  port  on  the  south- 
west coast  of  Kanitchatka,  under  the  leadership  of  a  Hungarian 
exile,  Count  Maurice  de  Henyowsky.  After  nuich  aindess  w.inder- 
ing  among  the  Aleutian  Islands,  where  they  procured  from  the 
natives  a  large  (juantity  of  furs,  they  sailed  southward  and  finally 
reached  Canton,  where  their  cargo  found  a  good  market.  This  was 
the  first  vessel  fr(»m  the  Russian  Possessions  of  the  Pacific  to  enter 
the  harbor  of  a  foreign  nation,  and  the  spreading  of  the  information 
that  rich  fin-  regions  at  the  north  were  accessible  to  Canton  by  sea 
was  one  of  the  gr<'atest  factors  in  the  sultsecpient  rapid  growth  of 
the  fur  trade. 


H2 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTK  VALLEY. 


The  inc'ivasiiit;  value  of  the  fur  business  led  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment to  (lispatcji  other  exploring  expeditions  in  17<»6and  17()9. 
'riicy  found  the  coast,  wherever  they  reached  the  mainland  at  all, 
fringed  with  islands  and  the  sea  through  which  they  passed  dotted 
with  them.  Tiiat  the  land  on  the  east  side  of  Behring's  Strait«  was 
of  considerable  [»roportions  was  evident.  This  they  called  "Alaska," 
(»r  "Aliuska,''  and  sup[)osed  it  to  be  a  large  island.  In  1774  a  map 
was  picpared,  representing  their  ideas  of  the  geography  of  llussian 
America.  I'pon  this  the  coast  of  America  was  represented  as  run- 
ning nortliwesterly  from  California  to  the  seventieth  degi'ee  ot  lati- 
tu(U',  which  was  its  extreme  northern  and  western  limit.  Ikying 
lu'tween  America  and  i\sia,  in  that  latitude,  was  a  vast  sea  of  islands, 
of  which  the  largest  was  Alaska,  with  only  the  channel  of  Behring's 
Straits  separating  it  from  the  coast  of  Asia.  With  this  map  was 
published  an  account  of  the  last  two  voyages,  the  book  being  enti- 
tled "  Dcsci'iption  of  the  Newly  Discovered  Islands  in  the  Sea  be- 
tween Asia  and  America."  Such  was  the  Russian  idea  of  a  region 
in  which  four  official  explorations  had  lieen  made,  and  private  enter- 
prise had  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  for  thirty  years.  It  renniined 
for  an  Englishman,  the  celebrated  Captain  Cook,  only  a  few  years 
later,  to  i-eveal  t(»  them  their  error.  He  commanded  the  first  English 
vessel  to  visit  the  North  Pacific,  and  in  (me  voyage  straightened  out 
the  geographical  tangle  the  Russians  had  made  in  Alaska,  and 
reformed  the  ideas  the  Spaniards  entertained  about  the  coast  they 
had  several  times  explored  fiu-ther  to  the  south.  Such  wa.s  the 
difference  between  scientific  navigation  and  haphazard  sailing. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


FROM  CAPTAIN  CARVKH  TO  CAPTArX  COOK. 


TheJeHwitu  (Julonize  Lower  California  -The  Franrixcautt  Kiiter  Califor- 
nia -Discovery  of  San  Francisco  Bay — Early  Frtnch  Explorers  - 
The,  River  of  the  West —  Verendrye  Explores  the  Rocky  Mountains — 
France  Sells  Louisiana  to  Sj>a/n  and  Ijooxes  Canada  to  England 
by  Conquest — Journey  of  Captain  Career — He  c<dls  the  River  of 
the  West  "■Oreyon" — Argument  upon  the  Origin  <f  the  Word  "Ore- 
gon^"'—^The  Geiierally  Accepted  Sjxmish  Theory  does  not  Staml  the 
Light  of  IncHtigation — The  lliidson-s  Hay  Conipany^s  Ptdicy  of 
Keeping  the  World  Ignorant  of  the  Geography  of  the  Country  Occu- 
pied by  Them — Samuel  Jlearne  Discovers  Great  Slace  Lake,  Cop- 
permine Ricet  and  the  Arctic  Ocam — Russia''s  Activity  in  Alaska 
Lncites  Spain  to  Renew  her  Explorations —  Voyage  of  Perez  ami 
Martinez — Perez  enters  Port  San  Lorenzo,  or  Noothi  Sound — Mar- 
tinez Claims  to  have  Observed  the  Straits  of  Fuca —  Voyage  of  Ileceta 
and  Bodega  y  Quadra  Benin's  Wonderful  Chart — Discovery  of 
Trinidcul  Bay-lsla  de  Dtdorex,  or  Destruction  Islund — Heceta  At- 
tempts to  Enter  the  Columbia-  SiMinish  and  English  Methods  of  Ex- 
ploi'ation  ( 'ompared  Bodega  and  Maurelle  Discover  Mount  San 
Jacinto,  or  Edgecumb-  -They  iMnd  a)id  Take  Possession  for  the  King 
of  Spain — They  Reach  Latitude  58"  aiul  Return — England,  in  Alarm 
at  the  Progress  Made  by  Spain  and  Russia,  Semis  Captain  Cook  to 
the  Pacific — His  Particular  Instructions — Cook  Names  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  Cape  F'lattery  and  Nootka  Sound,  and  Searches  for 
the  Straits  of  F'uca,  River  <f  Kings  and  Straits  of  Anian — He 
Passes  Through  Behriiufs  Straits  and  Around  the  Northwestern  Ex- 
tremity of  Alaska  Winters  in  ihe  Sajidwi^'h  Islands  and  is  Kill&l 
by  the  Natives—  The  Expedition  Again  Visits  the  Arctic,  Takes  a 
Cargo  of  E'urs  to  Canton  and  Returns  to  Englaml — The  Record  of 
the  Voyage  Pigeonholed  Until  the  War  is  Over — Enterprise  of  John 


84  HISTORY  OF  WILLAMKTTE  VALLEY. 

Ledijanl — Arteaga,  Bodega  and  Maurelle  Follow   Cook's  Route    Up 
the  Count. 


DURIX(t  all  the  loiiir  absence  f»f  Spain  from  tlie  North  Pacific 
she  was  not  nei^lectini^  lier  interests  still  fnrther  to  the  south. 
With  the  al)an(l()nnient  of  ()ton<h)'s  colony  in  Lower  C'alifornin  in 
1<>S<),  a  council  of  chief  authorities  in  Mexico  Jecich'd  that  tin*  re- 
duction of  California  by  means  of  official  colonies  and  expeditions 
was  im])racticablc.  A  few  years  later  the  Society  of  Jesus,  whose 
zealous  missionaries  had  long  since  carried  the  cross  into  the  remote 
fnmtiers  (tf  Mexico,  silicited  the  privilege  of  planting  a  colony  and 
founding  missions  in  Lower  C'alifornia;  and  tliough  this  was  just 
the  object  the  government  had  sought  so  long  to  accomplish,  it 
took  ten  years  to  obtain  the  royal  warrant,  so  jealous  was  the 
throne  of  the  growing  ])ower  of  the  Jesuits.  In  KiOT  tlie  first  mis- 
sion was  founded  at  Loretto,  and  in  17(j7,  when  tlie  Society  of 
Jesus  was  deprived  of  all  ita  property  in  the  Spanish  d(»minions 
and  its  mend)ers  thrown  into  prison  upon  the  order  of  Charles  LIL, 
there  existed  in  Lower  California  sixteen  thriving  missions  and 
thirty-six  villages.  This  rich  inheritance  was  bestowed  upon  tlie 
Dominicans,  while  at  the  same  time  the  Franciscans  were  granted 
full  and  exclusive  authority  to  found  missions  in  Alta  California 
and  take  possession  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  crown. 

The  first  missioji  in  Alta  Califoi-iiia  was  founde<l  !)y  Father 
Junipero  Serra  at  San  Diego,  July  Kl,  I7()t>,  which  was  followed 
by  that  of  San  C/arU»s,  at  Monterey,  August  8,  1770;  San  Antonii) 
<le  Padua,  July  14,  1771 ;  San  Gabriel,  near  Los  Angeles,  Se[)teni- 
berH,  1771;  San  Luis  <)l)ispo,  in  September,  1772;  Dolores,  at 
San  Francisco,  ()ctol)er  1<>,  1770;  and  others  at  later  dates,  to  the 
total  number  of  twenty-two.  The  missions  became  so  numerous 
and  })ovverful  that  the  Mexican  government  })egan  in  1)S'J4  a  series 
of  h(>stile  acts  whicli  ended  in  1845  in  their  com[)lete  secularization, 
jtist  one  year  before  the  country  was  coiKpiered  by  the  I'niteci 
States. 

It  was  in  17()1>,  while  GasjKiv  de  Portala,  at  the  head  of  a  |tarty 
from  San  Diego,  was  searching  foi-  the  Harbor  of  Monterey,  that 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  was  discoxered  and  named,  (hi  the 
thirtieth  of  ()ctol)er  they  came  u])on  a   l)ay  which   "they   at   once 


FROM  CAPTAIN  CAEVER  TO  CAPTAIN  COOK. 


65 


recognized,"  says  Father  Crespi,  the  historian  who  accompanied 
them.  There  exists  now  no  record  of  any  prior  <liscovery  of  the 
givat  harl)or  at  San  Francisco,  except  the  Manihi  chart  [)revioiisly 
referred  to,  and  it  certainly  seems  strange  that  they  vvouhl  spend 
nearly  four  months  searching  for  such  an  inferior  port  as  Monterey 
at  which  to  found  a  mission  and  harbor  of  refuge,  when  such  a 
glorious  one  existed  only  a  few  miles  further  north.  They  now  re- 
membered that  Father  Junipero  Serra  liad  been  grieved  because 
the  Visitadore  (ieneral  had  neglec:ted  St.  Francis,  the  j)atron  saint 
of  the  order,  in  selecting  names  for  their  future  missions,  and  tlnit 
he  had  said,  "  If  St.  Francis  wants  a  mission,  let  him  sliow  y<m  a 
good  port  and  we  will  put  one  there."  Tliey  believe<l  that  their 
patron  had  purposely  led  them  to  this  harbor,  and  they  named  it 
"San  Francisco,"  in  his  honor.  It  was  first  entered  by  a  vessel  in 
June,  1775,  when  tlie  San  Carlos  sailed  through  the  (rohien  Gate 
and  cast  anchor  I )ef()re  the  site  upon  which  tlie  piicblo  (town)  of 
Yerba  Buena  (now  San  Francisco)  was  afterward  built. 

Having  seen  the  Spaniai'ds  take  possession  of  California,  it  is 
necessary  to  consider  the  relative  elaims  of  the  contending  nations 
in  North  America,  in  order  to  fully  luiderstand  tlie  various  acts  of 
each,  which  led  to  the  disccjvery  and  settlement  of  Oregon.  To  do 
this  re([uires  a  return  to  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  Treaty  of  Uyswick  was  concluded  in  1(»U5,  in  which  wjis  a 
provision  defining  the  boundaries  of  the  colonial  possessions  of  tlu' 
various  rival  nations  in  America.  This  was  definite  and  positive; 
l)Ut,  owing  to  the  crude  ideas  of  American  geogra[)hy  which  pre- 
vailed at  that  time,  was  imperfect  in  many  respects.  Florida,  Jis 
the  Spanish  possessions  north  of  Mexico  were  called,  wjis  bordered 
on  the  north  l>y  the  Carolinas,  but  further  west  the  boundaries 
were  (juite  indefinite,  conflicting  with  the  Louisiana  of  the  Frencli. 
France  claimed  as  Louisiana  all  north  of  the  month  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  the  west<'rii  boundary  l)eing  in- 
definite because  no  one  knew  how  far  toward  tlie  (>cci<1ent  the  con- 
tinent exti'uded.  She  also  claimed  the  region  of  the  St,  I^awrence 
and  the  cliain  of  great  lakes  under  the  general  title  of  (-anada, 

'oiniuiT  and  inter* 


pn 


J' 


ing 


an> 


vision  either  expressed  or  understood.     The  Hudson's  Bay  country 
was  also  i'lainu'd  l»y  France,  though  not  with  much  persistence,  and 


66 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


it  was  lit  that  time  actually  in  the  possession  of  England,  in  the 
person  of  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company.  The  English  colonies  were 
east  of  the  Alleghanies,  from  Main  to  Georgia.  In  17i;5  Erance 
relinquished  tt»  England  lier  claim  upon  the  Iluilson's  Bay  region, 
and  turne<l  her  attention  to  streiiijdiheninir  her  position  in  Canada 
an<i  Louisiana. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the  first 
half  of  the  eigliteenth.  French  explorers  and  .Ii'suit  missionaries 
traversed  the  Mississipj  i  N'alley,  established  a  cliain  t>f  stations  lie- 
tween  Canada  and  Louisiana,  amonu'  them  the  citv  of  St.  Louis, 
and  even  penetrated  th"  unknown  wilderness  lying  between  the 
headwatei's  of  the  Mississipju  and  the  "Shining  Mountains,"  a.s 
they  first  called  the  lioi-ky  Mountains,  whose  snowy  sides  and 
lofty  spires  of  rock  reficited  the  bright  rays  of  the  sun  hundreds  of 
miles  to  the  westward.  The  most  noted  of  these  French  pioneers 
were  La  Salle,  Pere  Marquette,  Haron  La  Ilontan.  Chevalier  La 
Wrendrye  and  his  sons,  Father  Hennepin,  Dupratz  and  Charlevoi.x. 
Nearly  all  of  tJiese  wrote  accounts  (»f  their  travels,  ga\e  descriptions 
•A  the  country  and  the  native  tribes,  and  from  their  own  observa- 
tions  and  the  information  gleaned  from  the  Indians  made  maps  of 
that  region,  embracing  a  little  which  they  knew  and  a  great  deal 
whicli  hey  guessed  at.  Thesi^  nnips,  to  say  the  least,  are  very 
queer.  One  of  them,  drawn  in  ITU*  to  show  the  results  of  a  west- 
ern journey  accomplished  by  La  Hontan,  is  especially  odd.  It 
shows  a  great  river  (called  the  "  Long  River"),  up  which  he  |)assed, 
as  entering  the  Mississippi  in  the  region  of  Dubuque,  Iowa.  This 
was,  l»eyond  doid)t,  the  Missouri,  though  that  stream  is  also  i'e|)re- 
sented  in  its  pro))er  place  whei'e  it  unites  with  the  "Father  of 
Waters,"  and  is  made  to  extend  almost  due  west  to  the  njountains. 
Passing  across  from  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississip[)i  and  coming 
upon  the  Missouri  so  far  to  the  noith,  he  natinaliy  sup{>osed  it  to 
be  another  stream.  I'p  this  he  followed,  af)j>arently  branching  (tfF 
to  ascend  the  Platte.  He  descrilies  thf  upper  f)art  of  the  stream  as 
a  series  of  lakes  and  swamps.  Some  of  Imn  descriptions  anfl  the 
features  of  his  map  are  very  peeidiai',  so  much  so  that  historians 
have  l»een  inclined  t«»  doubt  the  extent  of  his  journey.  There  ih 
one  featinv,  how»'vei-,  which  tells  in  lii"<  favor.  The  nuip  shows,  at 
some  distaiure  to  the  southwest  of  the  point  iudioHt«il  a*i  the  west- 


FROM  CAPTAIN  CARVER  TO  CAPTAIN  < OOK. 


ern  limit  of  his  wanderings,  a  large  lake,  which  the  Indians  told 
him  contained  bitter  water.  This  was  undoubtedly  Great  Salt 
Lake,  the  one  which  years  before  the  Indians  of  Mexico  hud  en- 
deavored to  describe  to  the  Spanish  explorers.  The  lakes  indicated 
{18  existing  along  the  river  beyond  the  point  where  rhe  journey 
ended  were  probably  so  marked  l)ecause  he  misunderstood  the  In- 
dians when  tliey  spoke  of  the  numy  large  lakes  existing  in  the 
region  to  the  westward. 

One  feature  is  \ery  prominent  in  the  reports  of  nearly  all  these 
early  French  explorers — the  fact  that  beyond  the  "Shining  Moun- 
tains" was  a  large  river  flowing  westward  to  the  "  drreat  Water," 
in  the  latitvide  of  the  headwater^  of  the  Mississippi.  This  tlu'y 
learned  from  the  Indians  with  whom  thev  came  in  contact.  ThoU'di, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Verendryes  and  their  successors  in  com- 
mand along  the  Saskatchewan,  probably  none  of  them  went  further 
west  than  the  Red  River  of  tlie  North;  still  the  Indians  of  that 
region,  in  the  years  of  peaceful  intercourse  or  bloody  hostilities  uith 
the  tribes  beyond  the  mountains,  imist  have  become  suHicientiy 
familiar  witii  the  geography  of  the  ccmntry  lying  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Pacific  to  know  of  the  existence  of  such  a  large 
stream  lus  the  ('ohmibia.  When  the  trappers  a])peared  among  the 
Cheyennes,  Crows,  lilackfeet.  Pawnees,  Sioux,  and  other  tribes. 
It  century,  they  found  them  tx)  ' 


pn 


V 


<|uite  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  topography  of  the  coinitry  west 
of  the  mountains  occupied  by  the  Shosliones,  Bannocks,  Flathea<ls 
and  Ne/  I'en'cs,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  a  luuidred 
years  earlier  their  knowledge  wa.s  n«)t  nearly  as  great.  The  asser- 
ti<ni  that  a  great  river  exist(^d  beyond  the  mountains  was  not  like 
tliose  tales  of  the  "  City  of  Quivira  "  and  the  "Land  of  Cibola," 
which  led  the  Sjianianls  to  take  sucli  long  joui'ueys  int(»  the  desert*^ 
<•}■  Mexico  and  Arizona  two  centuries  liefore.  Coming  from  differ- 
ent tribes,  through  soun-es  that  were  recognized  as  Jteing  totally 
distinct,  it  was  acce])ted   as  a  geographical   fact  that  sucji  a  river 


existnl,  and  a  stream  of  that  nature  was  indicated  on  the 


inapH 


o 


f 


the  period.  Vtearing  the  various  titles  of  "  River  of  the  West," 
"  River  Thegayo,"  "  Ri<»  de  los  Reyes"  (the  mythical  stream  of 
Admiral  Font*''),  and  "Rio  de  Aguilar"  (the  one  whose  mouth 
Aguilar  claimofl  to  have  discovered   in    1(i08),     The  most   definite 


68 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


puhlislu'il  account  of  this  givat  stream  was  giveu  by  Lepage  Dupratz, 
a  French  traveler  c»f  note,  who  received  it  from  a  Yazoo  Indian. 
-It  was  to  the  effect  that  this  Indian  ascended  the  Missouri  north- 
'.vesterly  to  its  head,  and  going  still  further  west  came  upon  another 
large  river  Howing  to  the  westward.  He  j)assed  down  the  stream 
until  he  was  com[)elled  to  halt  Itecause  of  a  war  existing  between 
the  natives  living  ah)ng  its  banks  and  a  tribe  further  west.  He 
]>artici|)ated  in  the  hostilities,  during  which  his  friends  captured  a 
squaw  of  t.ln'  western  tribe,  and  from  her  he  learned  that  the  river 
Howed  many  miles  until  it  emptied  int«t  a  great  water  where  ships 
had  been  seen,  on  which  were  men  with  beards  and  white  faces. 
The  geographical  statements  are  so  accurate  that  there  is  no  room 
to  doubt  the  knowle^lge  uf  the  Yazoo  savage  of  the  existence  of  the 
Columbia  River;  but  his  st;i,tement  about  ships  and  white  men  is 
historii-ally  imj)ossible,  suice  no  vessel  ha^l  ever  visited  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia,  oi-  even  been  so  far  north  as  that,  unless  it 
be  admitted  that  Sir  Francis  Drake  i-eached  latitude  4S"  and  wa*« 
near  enough  to  the  ct>a.»!t  to  have  the  faces  and  l>eards  of  his 
men  recognized;  Imt  that  was  a  century  and  a  half  before,  and  if 
his  visit  was  known  to  the  Indians  at  all  it  wouhl  probably  be  in 
the  tornx  of  a  legend  about  a  great  white  bir<l  that  swam  in  the 
water,  or  the  canoe  of  the  (Tivat  Spirit.  That  [>ortion  of  the  story 
was  prolialtly  a  creation  of  the  hulian,  or  an  amj)litication  of  the 
tale,  made  l>y  Dupratz  himself. 

De  1/lsh',  ge»»grapher  of  the  Academy  of  Sciem-e,  Pai'is,  wrt>te 
March  I'l,  171<>:  "They  tell  me  that  among  the  Scioux  «»f  the 
Mississippi  there  are  always  Frenchmen  trading;  that  the  coui-se  of 
the  Mississippi  is  from  north  to  west,  an<l  fi-«»m  west  to  south  |evi- 
ih'Utly  the  Mississijtpi  is  here  «'onf<»unded  with  the  Missouri  |,  from 
that  it  is  known  that  towards  the  source  there  is  in  the  highlands  a 
river  that  leads  to  the  western  (x-ean."  De  li'Isle  warndy  urged 
the  goveriunent  tn  explore  the  far  West,  in  search  of  this  river  and 
the  "  Western  Ocean"  into  which  it  flowed.  an<l  was  seconded  in 
his  eff(»rts  by  a  learned  piiest  named  liode.  'I'emporary  posts  had 
bej'ii  established  many  year^  before  in  various  pai'ts  of  Minnesota. 
Du  I.Mth  iMiilt  (tiie  near  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  in  l(»7s;  Per- 
rot  founde<l  aiiotln-r  bel<»w  I^ake  IN-pin,  in  h»s;{  ;  a  stockade  wjis 
erected  above  Lake  IVjtiu  on  Prairie  Island,  in  1UU."»,  and   Le  Seur 


KHOM  CAPTAIN  CAKVKK  To  CAPTAIV  ('(»OK. 


(il> 


liiid  a  post  ill  1  700  oil  rlir  liliic  Kartli,  iK-ur  tlic  site  of  Mankjito. 
The  iinportniiitics  of  De  I/lslt-  and  Prrc  liodt*  caused  the  govern- 
iiieiit  to  Ix'tiiii  .-III  eriertxetic  policy  of  \\ Csterii  ex])loratioii  and  occu- 
pation in  I  7  I  7,  coinniencinir  with  tlie  re-estaUlishment  of  the  fort 
of  Dii  Luth  and  another  further  west  anioiiijf  the  Sioux.  Other 
posts  foHowed  in  rapid  suci*ession.  In  17'_*s,  Seur  de  la  Verendrye, 
wlio  was  in  coniniand  <tf  tliesr' advanced  p(»sts,  received  such  definite 
information  of  the  "Shininu'  Mountains"  from  the  Indiniis.  and  of 
the  (;reat  river  lieyond  them  wliich  tlowt  d  towards  the  western  sea, 
that  he  decided  to  make  a  systematic  ex])loration  of  those  unknown 
regions.  Misapplication  for  authority  wa>  favoraldy  considered  hy 
Charles  de  lieauliju'iiois,  (Tovernor-(iener;il  of  ("anada,  and  orders 
were  given  for  the  Htting  out  of  an  ex[)e<lition. 

In  17H1  two  sons  of  the  Chevalier  Vereiidrve  left  Montreal  with 
a  detachment  of  fifty  men,  their  father  n(»t  joining  them  until  two 
years  later.  They  reached  Hainey  Lake  in  the  fall,  and  jit  the  foot 
of  tlie  lake  huilt  Fort  St.  Pierre,  named  in  honor  of  their  father, 
whose  Uaptisinal  name  was  Pierre.  Xext  year  they  estaMished 
Fort  St.  Charles,  named  in  honor  of  the  (loverii)r-(Teneral,  on  the 
southwestern  shore  of  the  Lake  of  the  VN'oods.  Further  on  they 
Imilt  a  post  on  the  AssiniUoine,  five  leagues  from  Lake  Winnipeg, 
and  Fort  Maurepas,  on  Winnipeg  Uiver.  In  .Line,  ]''M\,  a  [)arty 
of  twenty-six,  among  whom  was  the  younger  son  of  the  Chevalier, 
were  massacred  hy  th<'  Sioux  Lidians  while  encamj)ed  on  a  small 
island  in  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  In  Ocloher,  17MH,  the  N'eren- 
dryes  luiilt  Fort  La  Heine,  further  west  on  the  Assinilioine,  which 
l»ecame  their  base  of  ojierations.  In  1 74"J  the  two  sons  of  the 
Chevalier  left  Fort  lia  Heine  with  a  small  party  for  the  purjtose  of 


fully  expl(»ring  the  "Shining  Mountains."  They  followed  up 
Mouse  Hiver  in  a  s(»utherly  direction  to  the  country  of  the  Alandans 
(called  by  them  "  Moiitanes"  ),  crossed  the  Missouri  a  little  helow 
the  site  of  Fort  lierthold,  and  ascended  the  stream  to  the  canyon 
l>elow  Helena,  making  a  portage  aiNuind  the  (ireat  Falls,  which 
they  described  in  their  rejiort,  differing  in  no  essential  p;irticular 
from  the  descri|)tion  gixcn  hy  Lewis  and  Clarke  sixty-two  yejirs 
later.  At  this  point,  now  known  as  the  "(iatewayof  the  .Moun- 
taiiw,"  they  ascended  the  summit  of  the  range  on  tlie  I'Jth  day  of 
January,  174H,  not  far  from  Hear  Tooth  Peak,  of  which  they  speak 


HISTOKY  OK   WILLAMKTTK  VALLEY. 


jis  a  tusk-sha[)e(l  niuuntain.  They  then  passed  iij)  Deep  Creek 
(Smith  River),  erossed  tlie  luountaiiis  to  tht'  headwaters  of  the 
Musselshell,  and  thence  across  to  the  Yellowstone  at  thf  mouth  of 
Pryor  River.  They  foHowed  up  this  stream  t<»  the  Stinkintr  Water, 
and  on  over  the  mountains  to  Wind  River.  Ilci-c  their  j)roirress 
was  arrested  l>v  a  fierce  war  ras.rinir  between  the  Snakes  and  Sans 
Arc  branch  of  the  Sioux;  but  they  were  told  by  the  friendly  Snakes 
of  the  h>cation  t»f  T(merue  and  (rreen  Rivei"s.  Thev  then  returned 
to  tlie  Upper  Missouri,  and  raised  a  moininient  of  stone  near  the 
mouth  of  tile  Jefferson— in  what  they  called  the  "  IVtite  ("ei'ise" 
(Clioke  Cherry  country) — as  a  witness  that  they  took  ])ossession  of 
the  country  in  the  name  of  the  Kiui;  of  France.  This  they  chi'is- 
tened  "  BeauhaiMiois,"  and  beneatli  it  deposited  a  leaden  plate  bear- 
inij  the  French  coat-of-arms.  Tiiis  ceremony  of  dedication  was  j)er- 
formed  May  l'.»,  1744.  They  tln'n  resumed  the  liomeward  journey. 
North  of  the  Assiniboine  they  explored  the  Saskatchewan  -called 
by  them  "Posk<»iac" — as  far  as  the  forks,  and  built  two  foi-ts,  one 
near  Lake  Dauphin  (Swan  Lake)  and  the  other  on  the  "  River  (\^s 
Biches."  Tliey  ivached  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  on  the  iM  of  July, 
and  I'eported  the  northei-n  I'oute  by  tlie  Saskatchewan  as  preferabh' 
to  the  Missouri,  l»ecause  of  the  altsence  of  daui^er  of  meetiniz;  Span- 
iards, whom  tliey  feared  mi»?ht  be  encountere<l  further  south.  Tliey 
would  not  have  felt  so  much  solicituch'  on  the  subject  if  they  had 
been  aware  that  the  Jesuit  ndssions  in  the  extrenie  southern  portion 
of  the  [»eninsuhi  of  liower  California  were  the  farthest  north  of  the 
Spanish  colonies  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Before  startiuii'  upon  their  two  years'  journey  they  had  l>een  in- 
formed by  the  Indians  that  the  "  Shininii'  Mountains"  were  full  of 
gold.  AVhen  they  readied  the  mountains  they  were  disapj»«»inted  to 
find  that  it  was  not  gold,  l»ut  barren  rock  and  snow,  which  reH;'cted 
the  rays  of  the  sun  so  l)rightly,  and  they  changed  their  name  to 
"  Stony,  or  Rocky,  Mountains."  The  fuilhest  west  the  inf<»rmation 
gained  by  the  Verendrye  l)i'othei*s  extends  is  to  the  Flathead  Indians, 
of  whom  they  speak,  living  just  west  of  the  main  chain  of  the 
Rockies  and  within  the  limits  of  Oregon,  as  that  tei-ritory  existed 
when  it  was  in  dispute  ))etween  tlie  United  States  and  (In'at  Britain, 
but  now  in  the  western  extremity  of  Montana.  They  encountered 
a  band  of  Flatheads.  who  told   them  of  their  countrv  west  of  the 


t-'KOM  CAPTAIN  CAKVEK  To  <APTAIN  CnoK. 


1 


iiKiuutains,  juul  of  tlu*  jfirat  lake  from  wliitli  a  river  ran.  This 
lake,  they  iiiidi'rstood  the  Indians  to  say,  was  the  source  (tf  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Missouri,  hut  the  cause  of  their  error  is  evident,  tis  Sun 
River  flows  from  the  mountains  in  that  direction.  They  were  also 
told  ()f  the  great  river  runniui;  westwaid  to  the  ocean,  hut  were  not 
ahle  to  cr()ss  the  divide  t(»  e\'[)lore  it.  The  river  to  which  the  Indians 
referred  was  prohahly  the  stivam  tii-st  reached  Uy  Lewis  and  Clarke 
when  tlh-y  crossed  the  main  divide,  and  whii-h  they  named  "  Clarke's 
River."  The  stream  is  now  known  at  vari(»us  points  along  its 
coiu'se  as  "Deer  Lodge,"  "  Ilellgate,"  "  Hitter- Root,"  "Missoula," 
"ClarkeV  Fork,"  and  "  Pend  (!'<  )reille,"  though  a  commeiidahle 
Hdelity  to  histoi'y,  a!id  a  proper  regard  for  the  honor  of  one  of  our 
greatest  exploivis,  demands  that  the  use  of  every  name  hut  that  of 
"C'larke's  River"   to  he  at  once  al»andon«*tl. 

The  Chevalier  \'erendrye  was  reli»'v«Hl  of  his  command  (»f  the 
frontier  soon  after  this  e.\|)e<lition.  hut  was  restored  a  few  years  later 
l»y  (lalissonere,  the  suc<'<'s^or  of  Heauharnois.  lie  died  Dtn-emher 
<■>,  1  74'.»,  while  plaiming  a  tour  up  the  Saskatchewan.  Jlis  son  wa.s 
dej)osed  by  Jon(piierre,  the  next  (Tovernor-(Teneral,  who  dis])atched 
tw<i  expeditions  in  search  of  rhe  Pacific.  One  of  these  was  com- 
manded hy  St.  Pierre,  and  was  to  ascend  the  Saskatchewan,  while 
the  other,  headecl  l»y  Marin,  was  to  go  up  the  Missouri.  St.  Pierre 
excited  the  hostility  of  the  Kinsteneanx  Indians,  who  attempted  to 
kill  him;  and  though  they  failed  in  this  they  succeeded  in  hurning 
Fort  La  Reine.  lie  sent  Lieutenant  Hoiichet  de  Neville  to  establish 
a  po.st  at  the  head  of  the  Saskatchewan.  This  effort  proved  a  failure 
because  of  sickness,  but  in  17.").'^  some  of  the  men  established  Fort 
.Ion([uie]-re  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  1  7."»4  St.  Pierre  wjis  relieved 
liy  De  la  Crone,  and  the  following  yeai-  fell  in  the  battle  before 
Fort  St.  (reorge.  The  pi'o]»ost^l  expeijition  of  Marin  up  the  Mis- 
.souri  wjis  a  «'om])lete  failure. 

The  ex))lorations  of  these  French  travelers  ended  with  the  war 
between  England  and  France,  which  wa.s  |»articipated  in  l>y  their 
respective  colonies  in  America,  and  which  is  known  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic  as  the  "  French  and  Indian  War."  As  that  struggle 
drew  toward  its  close,  and  France  realiz»*<l  that  her  jiossessions  in 
America  were  about  to  fall  into  the  grasj)  of  her  immemorial  enemy, 
she  secretly  conveyed  to  Spain  her  province  of  Louisiana.     When 


72 


HISTORY  OK   WILLAMKTTK  VALLEV. 


the  giillaut  Wolfe  died  u])on  the  Phlin^s  of  Ahmhjiiii  in  tlie  very 
moment  of  triumpli,  one  of  tlie  prizen  to  he  gjiined  )>y  this  crown- 
ing victory  of  the  war  l\a«l  ahvady  j)assed  into  tlie  keeping  of  an- 
othei'.  Louisana  belonged  to  Spain.  The  treaty  of  Paris,  in  \l(u'>, 
conveyed  Canada  to  (Ireat  Britain,  and  thns  France  was  shorn  of 
all  her  possessions  in  America.  All  these  frontiei-  posts  were  aban- 
doned, and  the  Ro(!ky  Monntains  again  became  the  undisputed 
home  of  the  aborigine. 

AVe  now  approach  the  memorable  journey  of  the  none  too  vera- 
cious Captain  Carver,  the  man  wlio  stands  sjutnsor  for  the  word 
"Oivgon."  This  luis  led,  by  reason  of  the  sujterHciality  <»f  many 
historical  writers,  to  the  bestowing  upon  him  <»f  all  the  credit  of 
nniking  known  to  the  world  the  existence  of  the  Cohnnbia  River, 
when  the  fact  is  that  it  was  known  long  before  his  d«tubtful  journey, 
and  his  account  of  it,  so  far  from  being  written  ui)on  original  infor- 
imition,  Wits  but  the  re-publication  of  facts  made  known  l)y  the 
French  explorers  above  mentioned,  many  years  bef<tre.  Jonathan 
C'arvei"  wjis  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  served  with  gallantry  as  a 
captain  of  the  English  colonial  army  in  the  war  with  France,  wliich 
was  terminated  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  17<i;i.  I  ■  then  conceivefl 
the  idea  of  exploring  the  westei*!!  portion  of  England's  neM'  posses- 
sions. In  17()(i  he  left  Boston,  and  going  by  the  way  of  Detroit 
and  Foit  Michilimacinac,  reached  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi. 
Thus  far  historians  admit  that  he  traveletl,  probably  to  the  Lake 
Park  region  of  ^linnesota,  where  rise  streams  flowing  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  Missoiu'i  and  the  lied  River  of  the  North.  Carver's 
claim  to  extt'Usive  traveling  west  of  tlie  headwaters  of  the  Missis- 
sip])i,  covering  a  period  of  five  months,  is  a  very  doubtful  one; 
since  his  descriptions  of  the  names,  manners  and  customs  of  the  Inilian 
tril)es  of  that  region  are  but  the  translations  into  English  of  the 
works  of  the  earlier  French  exjdorers.  His  oltject,  jus  stated  in 
the  introduction  to  his  book  was,  "after  gaining  a  knowledge  of 
the  nuiiniei"s,  customs,  languages,  soil  and  natural  protlucti()ns  of  the 
different  nations  that  inhabit  the  liack  of  the  Mississi])])i,  t<)  jtscer- 
tain  the  breadth  of  the  vast  continent  which  extends  fi-om  the  At- 
lantic to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  its  })roadest  pai"t,  l)etween  the  forty- 
third  and  forty -sixth  degrees  of  north  latitude,  //ad  /  been  able  to 
accomplish  this,  I  intended  to  have  proposed  to  the  government  to 


KROM  CAPTAIN  rAUVER  TO  CAI'TAIN  <  <»OK.  (3 

establish  a  ))()st  in  some  of  those  parts,  al»out  the  Straits  of  Aiiian, 
whieli,  haviiiir  been  (liseovere<i  l>y  Sii-  Fraiu-is  Drake,  of  course  l»e- 
loii<^  to  the  English."  The  caittjiin  ex])«>ses  hi^  want  of  fitness  as  a 
geogi'a])her  or  historian  liy  assertinir  that  Drake  discovered  the 
Straits  of  Anian.  The  circumstances  of  I)rake's  voyaL'e  were  more 
widely  known  than  those  of  any  other  mivisfator,  and  in  neithei"  of 
the  two  accounts  j»ul»lished  was  there  a  stat<'ment  that  the  gi-eat 
rol»l»er  had  discovered  those  mythical  straits,  <»i-  any  other  ])assaj?e 
leadinir  inland  from  the  Pacific.  Carver  did  not  seem  to  consider  his 
adventures  or  discoviM'ies  worthy  of  j»ul»lication  until  twenty  years 
later,  at  a  time  when  unusual  inter»'sl  was  felt  in  Kni^land  in  the 
<liscovery  (»f  the  Northwest  Passaixe,  to  tind  which  the  celebrated 
Captain  C(»ok  had  just  been  dispatched  on  a  voya^re  of  exploration 
to  the  North  Pacific.  Cai'ver  was  at  that  time  living'  in  London  in 
much  financial  distress,  and  his  friends  advised  him  to  take  ad\an- 
tage  of  the  public  int»'rest  to  |)ublish  a  book,  lie  consetpiently 
wrote  one,  evidently  compile(l  in  a  lari^e  measure  from  the  nari'atives 
Itefore  alludeii  to,  lari^e  j)ortions  of  them  beiuii'  transljited  literally 
int()  Kniflish.  lie  died  in  17st»  in  extreme  penury.  The  only 
interest  this  work  or  its  aiithoi-  can  have  to  modern  historians,  is  the 
appearance  therein  of  the  word  "Oregon."  the  first  use  of  that 
term  which  has  anywheiv  been  discovered.  It  appears  in  the  fol- 
lowing connecticm  : 


From  these  mitivt'H,  tofjetlier  with  my  own  observations,  I  Ikup  lcariu'(i  tliut  tho 
four  most  i-apital  rivers  on  tlie  contineiit  of  Xortli  Americii,  viz.:— tlii'  St.  Lawrence, 
tlie  Mississippi,  tlie  Uiver  Koiirbon  (Red  Itiverof  tlie  Nortlil,  and  tlie  Oregon,  or 
IJiver  of  the  West^-liave  tlu'ir  sources  in  tlie  same  neinlil)orlii)od.  Tlie  waters  of 
the  tliree  former  are  witliiii  tliirty  miles  of  eaeli  other:  [this  is  practically  correct, 
and  this  point,  somewhere  in  Westi  rn  Minni-sota,  is  prohal)ly  the  limit  of  his  west- 
ward journey,]  the  latter,  however,  is  rather  further  west.  This  sliows  that  these 
parts  are  the  highest  in  North  America;  and  it  is  an  instance  not  to  he  paralleled 
in  the  otlier  three-quarters  of  the  world,  that  four  rivers  of  such  ma^rnitude  shouhl 
take  their  rise  together,  and  each,  after  running  separate  courses,  discharge  their 
waters  into  different  oceans,  at  the  distance  of  two  thousand  miles  from  their 
sources,  for  in  their  passage  from  this  spot  to  the  Hay  of  St.  Lawrence,  east,  to  the 
Bay  of  Mexico,  south,  to  Hudson's  Bay,  north,  anit  to  the  Bay  at  the  Straits  of 
Anian,  west,  each  of  these  traverse  ui)wards  of  two  thousand  miles. 

In  this  statement  Carver  does  not  claim  to  have  visited  the  head- 
waters of  the  River  Oregon,  or  even  to  know  their  exact  location. 
He  expressly  observes  that  he  derived  his  informatioii  chiefly  "from 


74 


HlSTOUy  OF   WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


these  natives,"  and  it  is  possil>le  that  even  iToin  them  it  reached  him 
thr(»u;i;h  tiie  inediiim  of  his  Freneh  predecessors. 

\\'henee  Carver  (h*rived  his  authority  for  calliuir  the  Jliver  of  the 
West  "()re<j;on"  has  l)een  a  matter  of  nmeli  disc-ussiou.  Though 
it  is  now  i^enerailv  aihuitted  that  the  word  ori<;inat«'<l  with  Carver 
iiimself,  or  was  supposed  l)y  him  to  be  the  name  of  the  stream  from 
some  half-uiuhn-stood  woi-ds  uttered  hy  the  Indians  in  refei-rini^  to 
it;  yet  there  are  many  who  are  not  content  unless  they  can  l)nild  up 
some  theory  founded  upon  a  similarity  of  sound,  and  plausil)le  only 
t(t  those  who  are  iirnorant  of  the  details  of  the  earl\  explorations  in 
the  Pacific.  Of  these  the  one  most  <fenerally  accepted  in  ( )rei^on  is 
the  followiui;  from  the  |>en  of  Archbishop  Hlauchet,  speaking  (tf 
himself  in  the  third  jterson: — 

Jonuthan  ('arvi-r,  an  EiiKli**!!  captain  in  tile  wars  l)y  wliicli  Canada  came  into 
tin'  poHHt'Hsion  otMircat  IJritaiii,  al'ti'itlie  peace,  left  Boston,  June  (J,  ITtiti,  crossed  tlie 
<'ontinent  to  tlic  l'acit1<',  and  returned  October,  ITtiK.  In  relation  to  liis  travels, 
which  were  puMisherl  in  1774,  and  reiiuhlislied  in  177S,  he  is  the  first  wlio  nialtes 
use  of  the  woni  "Oregon"  Tlie  orijj;in  of  that  word  has  never  liecn  discovered  in 
the  country.  'I'iie  tirst  Catholic  missionaries — Kathcr  Deniers,  now  Uisliop  of  Van- 
couver Island,  and  Father  lilanchct,  now  Hisliop  of  (Jregon  City— arrived  in  Oregon 
in  1838.  They  traveled  tliroufili  it  for  many  years,  from  south  to  north,  from  west 
to  east,  visiting  and  teaching  the  numerous  tril)es  of  Oregon,  Wasliington  Territor.y 
and  British  possessions.  But  in  all  their  various  excm-sions  among  the  Indians 
the.v  never  succeeded  in  finding  the  origin  of  tlie  word  "  Oregon."  Now  it  appears 
that  what  c<)uld  not  lie  found  in  Oregon  lias  been  iliscovercd  hy  Ar(rhl)isliop  Blan- 
chet  in  Bolivia,  when  he  visited  that  country,  (Miile  ami  Peru  In  IHV)  and  lH-">7. 
Tlie  word  "Oregon,"  in  his  opinion,  most  undoul)tedl,v  luw  its  root  in  the  Spanish 
word  o/v_/rt  (ear),  and  came  from  tlie  <|ualifying  word  orcjou  (Itigeari.  For  it  is 
probable  that  the  Spaniards,  who  first  discovered  and  visited  the  country,  when 
the.v  saw  tin  Indians  with  liig  ears,  enlarged  liy  the  load  of  ornaments,  were  natur- 
ally inclined  to  call  them  orrjon  (big  ears).  That  nickname,  tirst  given  to  the  In- 
dians, l)ecanie  also  the  name  of  the  country.  This  exjilains  how  Captain  ("arver 
got  it  and  Hist  made  use  of  it.  But  the  travelers,  perhaps  Carver  himself,  not 
knowing  the  Spanisli  language,  nor  tlie  peculiar  pronunciation  of  the  J  in  .Spanish, 
for  facility  sake  would  have  written  It  and  pronounced  it  Oriijoii,  instead  of  Orvjon, 
in  changing  .)  to  g.  Such,  in  all  probability,  must  lie  the  origin  of  tlie  word  "  Ore- 
gon."    It  cornea  from  the  Si)anisli  word  Orc.jnn. 

This  is  cei'taiidy  a  scientific  explanation,  and  were  it  oidy  sus- 
tained hy  facts  would  he  a  satisfjictory  one;  it  will  not,  however, 
stand  for  ii  moment  the  liijht  of  investigation.  At  the  time  (Carver 
nnide  liis  journey  no  Spanish  exjilorer  had  set  foot  in  Oregon  nor 
had  the  least  communication  with  its  native  inluihitants;  tliey  w^ere 
not  even  familitir  enough  with  the  coast  line  to  he  aware  of  the 
existence  of  the  Columbia  River.     The  only  expeditious  had  been 


KKOM  HAPTAIN  CAKVKH  T(»  (  AP'J  AIN  COOK. 


75 


those  of  FeiTelo  and  Aijiiilai',  and  iieitliei'  of  these  liad  evcii  made 
an  attempt  to  kind.  (V)ns(M|ueutly  they  had  not  and  conld  not 
apply  the  title  Orcjon  to  its  inhabitants — pec >]»!('  \\li(»ni  they  had 
never  seen  and  of  whom  they  knew  notliiiii;.  No  allnsion  is  nnuU' 
to  the  natives  of  this  nnknown  kind  in  the  record  of  any  Spanish 
exjjlorer  prevk)ns  to  tlnit  date,  and  the  Hisiiop's  snj)|K)sition  that 
they  "disc(»vered  and  visited  this  eonntry,"  shows  how  nnfamiliar 
he  was  with  the  history  (»f  Spanish  explorations  on  the  I'aeitie  Coast. 
His  assertion  that  Carver  crossed  the  e<»ntinent  to  tlu'  Pacific  is 
etpially  at  variance  with  the  facts.  The  woi'd  "Orciron"  was  nn- 
known to  the  Indians  nntil  after  tin*  coimtry  was  visite(l  l»y  trap- 
])ers,  and  the  liishoj*  hims»'lf  hears  testimony  to  the  fact  that  in 
all  their  extensive  travels  amoni,'  the  initi\ cs  h«*  and  his  missionary 
associates  were  nmd>le  to  find  anthority  foi-  its  nse.  Thns  we  see 
that  the  Spaniards  had  not  visited  OreiLjon,  and  knowini;  notliiiii;  of 
its  inhahitants  conld  not  have  called  them  "l»iii  *'i»i-  '\  that  Carver 
did  not  visit  the  Columbia;  that  the  word  "( )i'eifon  "  was  unknown 
by  the  Indians,  aJld,  therefore,  could  not  have  been  conveyed  1  y 
them  from  ti'ibe  to  tribe  nntil  it  reached  Carver's  ears;  therefore, 
the  Hishoj)''s  theory  is  nntenabk'. 

E(jually  so  is  the  idea  that  Ore^ron  was  the  Indian  name  of  the 
Columbia,  since  if  such  were  the  case  the  early  settleis  of  this  region 
woidd  have  learned  the  name  fi-om  the  natives,  instead  of  having 
to  teach  it  to  them.  The  same  objections  are  valid  to  the  theory 
that  the  early  Spanish  t'X])lorers  best«»wed  the  name  because  of  the 
wild  nnijoi'am  {orii^auioii)  foiuul  alonj^  the  coast,  since  we  have  seen 
that  the  Spaniards  had  never  set  foot  on  the  coast  of  Oroji'on,  and 
that  the  name  nowhere  ap[)ears  in  Spanish  records.  If  eu{»hony  of 
sound  is  to  be  relied  upon,  combined  with  the  po[»idar  but  errone- 
ous idea  that  Oreiron  wjis  explore"!  in  early  times  l»y  the  Spaniards, 
then  the  writer  desires  to  announce  that  he,  also,  has  a  theoi-y — that 
in  sailing  along  the  coast  some  romantic  S])aniard  conceived  a 
resenddance  between  the  graceful  sununits  of  the  Coast  Range  and 
the  blue  hills  of  his  native  Aragon,  and  bestowed  that  name  upon 
this  new  land.  To  su[)port  this  he  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  Spaniards  named  Mexico  '*New  S[)ain";  the  Dutch  called  their 
settlement  on  the  Atlantic  coast  "  New  Amsterdam,"  it  being  sub- 
sequently christened  "New  York"  by  the  English;  the  region  set- 


7« 


HISTORT  or  .WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


tle«l  Uy  tin*  Puritans  jind  tin*  MnssacliiisettH  Colony  was  named  "New 
Knsxland";  and  the  Frcni'h  at  one  time  called  Canada  "New 
France."  Instances  of  this  kind  miylit  lie  easily  inidtiplied,  though, 
perhaps,  the  nearest  and  most  convincing  is  the  l»estowal  of  the  title 
"New  All)ion  "  upon  California  by  Sir  Francis  Drake,  because  of 
the  chalky  hlufFs  he  had  olisei'v«'d  along  the  coast.  Prof<mnd  and 
brilliant  as  the  writer  con<*eives  this  theory  to  he,  he  feels  com} >e lied 
to  give  jdace  to  the  Irishman,  who  believed  Oregon  to  l>e  named  in 
honor  of  his  royal  ancestors,  the  O'Uegons.  There  we  have  not 
only  euphony  of  sound,  but  correct  orthography,  combined  with  a 
proj)er  degree  of  ignorance  upon  the  subject. 

The  traditionary  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Ray  Company  to  head 
off,  or  render  nugatory,  all  attempts  l»y  the  g<)vernment  to  exjdore 
its  chartered  domains  in  search  of  the  Straits  of  Anian,  or  some 
other  pjiwsage  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  from  the  North  Atlantic,  was 
strictly  adhered  to  during  the  eighteenth  century.  They  did  not 
want  the  government  itself  nor  the  j»eople  to  have  any  knowledge 
whatever  of  the  regions  lying  contiguous  to  Hudson's  Bay,  To 
that  end  they  kejjt  to  themselves  all  geographical  knowledge  gained 
year  by  year  by  tlulr  re])resentatives  in  the  c(»urse  of  business  trans- 
actions, or  when  sent  upon  special  journeys  of  exploration  hy  the 
com})any.  In  1745  Parliament  offered  a  reward  of  t**J(),(K>0  to  any 
one  discovering  a  passage  into  the  Pacific  from  Hudson's  Hay,  l)ut 
no  one  made  a  serious  effort  to  earn  the  money.  The  com})anv 
was  powei'fid  enough  to  })revent  it.  Nearly  thiity  years  later, 
howevei",  having  become  satisfied  fi'om  information  gathered  by 
their  eni])loyees  that  no  such  ])<assage  existed,  they  dispatche<l 
Samuel  Hearne  in  search  of  a  copper  mine,  of  which  nuich  had 
been  said  by  the  Indians,  an<l  which  was  to  be  found  on  the  bank 
of  a  stream  called  by  the  natives  the  "Far-off  Metal  River."  That 
they  might  have  the  credit  of  exerting  themselves  in  searching  for 
the  j>assage  whose  disct)very  had  ostensibly  been  one  of  the  leading 
<*bjects  in  organizing  the  com})any,  they  instructed  Hearne  to  keep 
his  weather  eye  open  tov  the  Straits  of  Anian,  and  j)ermitte<l  it  to 
be  understo«)d  that  this  was  the  chief  aim  of  his  journey.  The  first 
ol)ject  of  note  discovered  by  Hearne  was  Great  Slave  Lake,  and  he 
followed  this  and  the  connecting  system  of  lakes  and  the  Copper- 
mine River  to  the  point  of  its  discharge  into  the  Arctic  Ocean. 


FROM  CAPTAIN  CARVKR  TO  CAPTAIN  OOOK. 


77 


The  CoppenuiiH^  lie  believed  to  he  the  stream  to  wliieh  the  Indiniis 
referred,  but  he  found  the  jn'overhial  eiicliautmeiit  of  distiince  wum 
jih)iie  reMnoiisil)h'  for  the  stories  of  its  trreat  rielmess  in  t-oppci',  and 
that,  so  far  lus  minerals  \ver»'  coiieei'iied,  his  journey  and  snfferini;s 
—for  he  eiidured  many  hai'dships  and  privations  had  been  in  vain. 
The  Aretie  he  eoneeive<l  to  be  an  inland  sea,  similai*  to  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  such  he  rei>orte(l  it  up<»n  his  return  to  the  eonipany's 
headcpnirtei's;  also  that  no  water  passaire  eoinun-ted  the  two  ^reat 
bodies  of  water.  Thou_i;h  the  journal  kejtt  by  Ilearne  was  not 
published  for  twenty  years,  the  company  immediately  eomminii- 
eated  to  the  admii'alty  the  failurtMtf  ll«'ai'ne  to  discover  any  North- 
west Passagt'.  This  seemed  to  «'nd  all  hop«'  of  findini;'  such  a 
waterway  leading;  out  of  Hudson's  liay;  but  the  discovery  of  the 
new  sea  opened  the  dooi'  to  new  hopes.  There  mij^ht  be  a  means  of 
coimnunication  between  it  and  BafHn's  Bay,  and  from  it  mii^ht 
possibly  be  found  the  h»n};-s(»ut;ht  Straits  of  Anian,  leadimcint<t  the 
Pacific.      It  certaiidy  resembled  Maldona<lo's  "  North  Sea." 

Tlie  rapidity  with  which  Russia  was  extendinu-  liei-  outposts  in 
Ala-ska  began  to  cause  seriojs  alarm  in  Spain.  Inactivity  and 
iipparent  apathy  iiad  mnrked  the  conduct  of  that  nation  for  a 
century  and  a  half,  so  far  its  the  ret^ion  lyin<^  north  of  California  was 
concerned.  This,  however,  wjls  not  caused  by  lack  of  interest,  but 
l>y  circumstances  ea.sily  understood.  All  voyages  (»f  e.\[)l(»ration 
ha<l  to  be  made  at  the  expense  of  the  Viceroy's  treasury,  and  this 
the  chief  executive  in  the  New  AN'orld  objected  t<».  As  long  as 
Spain  Wits  not  threatened  with  the  loss  of  exclusive  «lomini(m  on 
the  Pacifii^  ('oast,  there  was  notliing  to  arouse  the  government  to 
action;  nor  was  there  anything  in  those  unknown  regions  which 
was  sufficiently  tempting  to  induce  the  Viceroy  to  undergo  the 
expense  of  a  voyage  (»f  exploration  unless  stimulated  by  the  jtositive 
orders  of  the  crown.  Now,  however,  affairs  presented  a  different 
a»j)ect.  The  extent  of  Russian  exploration  and  occupation  of  the 
North  Pacific  were  unknown;  no  definite  informati(»n  had  been 
received;  the  report  of  none  of  the  Russian  voyages  had  been  pu}>- 
lished;  yet  that  Russia  was  making  (piite  extensive  discoveries  in 
that  region  was  well  known  in  Europe,  and  it  caused  much  anxiety 
in  Spain.  She  was  aroused  to  the  display  of  great  activity, 
aj)parently  cond>ined   with  a  pnrpo.se  of  discovering  and  taking 


78 


HISTORY   OF  AVILLAMETTK  VALLKT. 


])(>ss('ssioii  of  all  the  (roast  not  jiln'july  ocrnyned  l>y  tlu*  Miiscovitt^s. 
The  first  iii(iv«'int'nt  iiiatlc  Ity  S])aiii  was  the  coldiiiziiii.''  »>f  Cnli- 
foniia.  |>revioiisl\  sjtokcii  of.  The  next  was  asei'iesdf  explorations 
hv  sea.  .lamiary  •_*.">.  1774,  the  covwitf  Sii>///(ii;o  sailed  from  San 
Bias,  eoiiMiianded  Ity  .Iiiaii  '.'erez,  and  piloted  l>y  Kstivau  Martinez. 
IN'i'cz  \va>  iiistiiu-ted  to  |HMcerd  as  far  north  as  tlh'  sixtietli  d«'<^'ee 
of  latitude,  and  then  to  letnrn  slowly  alonir  the  coast,  landini;  at 
sundry  aeeessihle  points  to  take  possession  in  the  name  (»f  the  Kiiiir. 
'Pile  .S'</;///r?;'(>  touched  at  San  Dieiroand  Monterey.  lie  sailed  from 
the  latter  poit  on  tlir  sisiteenth  of  June,  and  siu-hted  land  apiin 
fhirt\tw<i  <lays  later,  in  latitude  .")4",  olT  the  coast  of  (^ueen 
Charlotte  lsland>.  Warned  l>y  the  appearance  of  the  dreaded 
s<-ui'\ y  anionj.''  his  t-rew  that  the  voyay'e  could  not  he  prolon;^ed, 
Perez  tui'ned  aliout  and  coasted  aloiitj  to  the  southward.  For  a 
hundred  miles  he  thus  followed  the  <'oji.st,  enjoyini;  a  lii.t;hly  proHt- 
alde  trade  in  furs  with  the  natives,  who  came  out  to  the  vessel  in 
i^reat  canots  and  e.\cliann('(l  sea  otter  and   other   valuaMe  skins  f(»i' 


mere 


4  trill 


es. 


\  storm  then  di'ove  the  Sniiliaco 


seaward 


an( 


I  slu 


did  not  apiin  make  the  land  tintil  the  ninth  of  Auijust,  when  slie 
anchored  at  tli  entrance  t»f  a  deep  water  Itay  in  latitmle  4i>" 
and  .'50.  In  tl.''  direction  of  nomendatin-e  tin-  Spaniards  were 
never  at  a  loss,  |»rovided  not  more  (haii  one  name  wiim  re(|uired 
per  day.  \Vhene\er  an  ohject  was  discovered  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance to  reipiire  christening',  the  devout  Catholic  turned  to  his  IJoman 
ealenflar,  and  whatever  saint  was  found  to  have  heen  declared  hy 
the  Church  to  he  worthy  of  special  lioiior  upon  that  day,  the  mim»' 
of  that  camtnized  mortal  was  hestowcd  upon  it.  Followintr  this 
rule  I'erez  discovered  that  the  proper  name  of  this  harhoi'  waM  "San 
Iiorenz(»,"  and  that  name  he  entered  upon  his  jon.iiial  and  chart. 
This  harhor  was  afterward  re-christened  l»y  the  Kni;lish,  and  is  ?iow 
kn(»wn  as '•  Kini;  (ieoi'ire's  Sound,"  or  "  Nootka  Soun<l.'"  It  lies 
on  the  west  c(tiist  of  \'ancouver  Island,  and  was  a  few  years  later 
the  scetu'  of  an  interesting'  episode  •iiicli  nearly  precipitated  a 
bloody  conflict  lietween  (Jreat  Hritain  and  S|>ii'n.  Perez,  stopped 
for  a  few  (lavs  to  trade  with  the  mitives,  of  whose  ijitel!:L:en 


p-nce  atio 


light 


c(»m)>lexion    he   makes  specnil    Uiention,    ;uid    then    continue< 


th 


d 


s«tuthward.     He  oliservcd  Mount  Olympus,  in  latitmle  47"  and  47  . 
which  he  christened  "Sunt^i  Hosaliu."     A  few  days  later  he  .sighted 


KKOM   CAPTAIN  CARVKR   TO  (  AI'TAIN   COOK. 


79 


('}i|)e  Mt'iidorliio,  \vlios«'  cxju't  latitude  lie  asccrtaiiicd,  and  in  due 
time  cii'i'ived  at  Monterey,  liavintr  l>y  his  sii)»ertieial  uietliod  added 
l»nt  little  to  ii:<'o,<rrai»liifal  know  led  lic  Many  yeais  afterward,  when 
the  Straits  of  Fuea  had  l»een  disci »\('re<l  l»y  an  Kiinlish  ea|)tain,  and 
Sjtaiii  was  eui^r  •<  prove  a  pi'ior  diseoNciy,  Mai'tinez,  the  pilot  of 
the  Saiifiago,  deelared  that  he  had  '.'"served  a  Itroad  <»peninir  in 
the  coast  line  hetween  latitudes  4.S"  :t!id  411",  and  that  he  had  l»e- 
stowed  his  own  luiine  upon  the  point  t>f  land  at  its  entrance  on 
the  south.  'IMioUi^h  there  was  nothiiii.'  recorded  in  the  iouiiial  of 
the  voyuije,  Spanish  t;eoijfra|>hers  ac<'e|tted  this  (piesvionaMe  state- 
ment as  worthy  of  cicdence,  and  (h'si<fnated  upon  their  ma|»s  as 
"(\ipe  Martinez,"  the  headland  now  knoAvn  as  "Cape  Fhittery." 

A  second  expedition  was  dispatched  the  follow  inn'  \  ear,  with  in- 
structions to  pi'oceed  as  fai'  noi'th  !i.s  the  sixty-fifth  |)ai'allel.  This 
was  couiposed  of  two  vessels,  the  Saii/iaoo,  commanded  Ity  Hruuo 
Ileceta,  and  piloted  liy  l*ere/„  its  forniei- captain ;  and  the  Soiiora. 
under. luan  de  Ayala,  whose  pilot  was  Antonio  Mauielle.  A  I'rench 
iTcouiapher  named  Uellin  had  prepare(l  a  chart  of  the  Pacihc,  founded 
upon  pi'inted  r»|M>rt^  and  rinnored  discoM-ries  made  l»y  \ari<tus 
nations,  a  chart  which  was  "  wonderfidly  .ind  feiirfidly  nnide."  It  is 
ditiicult  to  conceive  h()W  such  a  map  could  \\n\v  l>een  |»roduced; 
certaiidy  nothinu'  l»ut  the  phosphorescent  intelh'ct  of  a  Fr. 'iichman 
could  have  evolved  such  a  ijfeo^raphic.Ml  monstrositv.  With  liellins 
chart,  the  latest  issued,  the  explorers  were  supplied,  and  it  is  a  fact 
far  from  creditalile  that  Spaniard"^  had  made  so  Ion;/  a  voya<re  the 
year  hefore  without  l>ein«;  aide  to  co cct  any  of  its  excentricities. 
The  Sait/iimv  ti\n\  Soiiora,  a<'conipanied  liy  the  San  Car/o.\.  sailed 
from  San  lilas,  March  !."».  177"),  and  proceedetj  to  Monterey.  There 
Ayala  wis  transfern'd  to  the  San  Car/os.  liieutemint  .luati  Fran- 
cisco de  la  Hode<;a  y  (,>midra  succeeding  to  the  connnand  of  tlie 
Sonora.  The  latter  vessel  and  the  Saufuii^o  then  sailed  from  Mon- 
terey on  their  vo\a}.!;e  of  disc(»very.  On  the  ninth  of  Juiie  they 
ancliored  in  an  open  roadstead  some  distance  north  of  Cape  Men- 
docino, calline;  it  Port  Trinidad  for  the  Jill-satisfyinir  reason  that  the 
day  nientione(l  wa>  dedicated  in  the  cah-ndar  to  the  Holy  Trinity. 
This  is  the  same  liay  of  Trinidad  which  caused  so  much  excitement 
aiMoiii;'  the  Li'old  hunters  in  is.")(>.  and  the  follow  inir  yiir  Iie<'amethe 
lauding  phu-e  for  the  devot^-es  of  "(lold  UlufT.""     Having  spent  nine 


80 


HISTORY  OK  WILLAMETTE   VALLiSY. 


<1jivs  at  Tiii)i(la<l,  tln^  vessels  iiuain  jmt  to  sea,  and  did  iii>t  sijijht 
land  auain  till  in  latitnde  4S"  and  '2~\  aecordinir  to  their  somewhat 
faulty  reekoninir,  beini:'  almost  at  the  enti'anee  of  the  Straits  of  Fucu. 
The  (ireek  pilot  had  located  his  passageway  between  latitu(h's  47" 
and  4s"  ;  and  it  beinu'  thus  indicated  on  Hellin's  chart,  tlie  ex- 
turned   to  the  soutiiward   to  search    foi*    what    was  almost 


>lorers 


1 

within  the  h'trizun  line  on  the  north.     Of  coui-se  they  found  nothing. 

'I'he  (»nly  adventui'e  worthy  of  note  in  that  reLjiun,  was  the   killinir 
of  se\en  of  the  So/iorti  s  cvrw  by  the  Indians.     'Phi 
mainland   near  a  small   island   in   latitude  47",   w 


s  occurred  on 


hid 


J   was  nume<l 


Isl 


I   (le 


Dol 


ores"   (Island  of  Sorrows),  the  title,  as  usual,  bein*; 


dictated  by  the  calendar.      It  was  afterward  christened  "  Destruction 
Island"  by  an    Kiii:li>h   captain  wli<>   lost  a  boat's  crew    near  that 


•oint  m  ureciselv  the  same  manner, 


Here  lleceta  Itecame  alarmed  at  the  ravaifes  the  dreai U^d  scurvy 


was 


mmittiuir,  and   desired    to   I'eturn 


bef. 


ore    nis    crew: 


en 


tireh 


succundM'd  to  the  'couriie.  He  was  )»ei>uaded  to  coiitiiuie  tile 
voyaire,  l»ut  a  few  da\s  later  a  stoi-m  s«'parated  the  two  consorts, 
and  Ibnt'ta  at  once  headed  his  vessel  for  Monterey.  lie  observwl 
land  in  latitu<le  .")(»",  beiiiir  the  southwt'st  |»ortion  of  Xancouver 
Island,  but  overlooked  the  Port  S.in  !,,oren/.o  of  I*ere/,  and  the 
Straits  of  Kuca,  be«:innin<j:  auain  the  sea>-cli  f«tr  (he  latter  in  latitiuh- 
48".  lie  made  a  ij:reat  discovery  on  the  tifteeiitii  of  .\ugust. 
177"),  l)ein<i-  no  h-ss  than  the  entrance  to  the  Cobunbia  River. 
While  sailimj  (piietly  uloni;  the  coast  he  suddeidy  noticed  an  <tpen- 
•  tni  which   tlow«'d   a   sticam   of  water   with   i;reat 


intr  >i> 


the  1; 


ind 


fi 


force,      lie  en<leavored  to  enter,  but  tlie  current  was  too  stroinr.  and 


for  a  whole  da\   he  was  thus  liaflled  in  iiis  efforts   t 


o    e.\|» 


.1- 


•e   w 


iiat 


lie  was  satislied  was  tlie  cliannel  of  a  ureat  river,  )>erliaps  the  Kio 
dc  Afjjuilar,  or,  possibly,  the  Sti-aits  of  l*'uca,  foi-  wiiicli  he  iiad  lieen 
so  dilip'utly  searching.  He  at  last  abandoned  the  effort  and  saih-d 
again  towai'd  Monterey,  oliserving,  for  the  tirst  time,  tlie  coast  <»r 
On-gon  witli  sutlicieiit  carefulness  to  entei-  upon  iiis  journal  <piite 
accurate  descriptions.  Tliis  was  the  first  time  tin-  coast  of  Oregon 
was  actually  explored  by  the  Spanianls,  or  any  (»tlier  nation,  being 
a  year  later  than  the  first  publication  of  Carver's  book  containing 
the  word  "Oregon,"  and  nineteen  y<'ars  after  the  journe\  of  whicli 
tut'  volume  treated.     It  is  plainly  cedent  that   tin-   name  wat*   iu»t 


FRUM  CAPTAIN  CARVEK  TO  CAPTAIN  COOK. 


81 


l»esto\ve<l  l>y  the  Spaniavfls.  Ujxni  his  chart  Heccta  eiitcrfd  the 
I'iver  he  ha<l  (liscoven-tl  not  as  a  river,  since  he  had  not  lyroved  it  to 
Ije  siu-h,  l)Ut  as  an  iidet,  eallini;  it  ''  Ensefiathi  de  Asuncion."  This 
inline  was  hcstowed  for  the  all-siitticient  reason,  to  a  Spanianl. 
that  the  tifti-entli  of  Autrust  was  the  (hiy  of  the  Assumption.  The 
sixteentli  was  «h'Voted  l»y  ^he  cah'n(hu'  to  the  tfloritication  uf 
Saint  Roc,  and  he  therefore  caUeil  tin'  proniontofy  on  the  n<»rth 
"Calto  de  San  Ho(|ue."  Tlie  cah'inhir  iiavini;  l»een  exhausted  he 
was  coinpeHed  to  l»e>tow  a  more  sensible  titU'  upon  the  low  point 
of  land  on  the  south,  which  he  christened  "('alio  de  Frondoso  " 
( Leafy  ('a|>e).  Maps  made  liy  the  Spaniards  thereafter  had  in- 
dicated upon  them  an  indentation  in  the  shoi'e  line  at  thi?'  point, 
variously  nnirk»'d  "  Knsenada  <le  Ilcceta"  ami  "  RiitdeSan  Hocpie," 
acctirdini.'  as  the  map-maker  believed  it  to  be  a  ri\er  oi-  simply  an 
inlet. 

While  lleceta  was  makin<,'  these  discoveries  liodetra  and  Maii- 
relle  were  still  sailiuL,'  northward  in  the  little  Soiiora,  eiideavorinir 
to  obey  their  instructions.  It  was,  a|)pai'ently,  the  policy  of  Span- 
ish explorers  to  j^ive  th<'  land  .'is  wide  a  bei'th  as  possildi'.  KnglisJi 
navipitors  always  kept  as  close  in  sh«)re  as  circumstances  would 
permit,  carefully  I'xamini  li;  every  bay  and  inh't,  inakinLr  fre<pient 
observations  and  copious  entries  upon  their  journals.  When  their 
voyage  was  comjileted  they  were  prepared  to  make  an  approximately 
correct  map  of  the  coast,  accompanieil  by  lonir  ami  careful  descrip- 
tions. Not  so  with  the  Spaniards.  They  ke[)t  well  out  to  sea, 
sii^htinir  land  here  and  there,  and  when  they  returned  were  utterly 
unable  to  rep<»rt  anything  save  that  they  had  sailed  to  a  certain  lat- 
itude and  had  seen  land  several  times  durinix  the  voyage.  W  hether 
I  lie  land  observed  was  an  island  or  a  jMvrtion  of  the  continent,  or 
wliether  the  coast  line  was  continuous,  or  was  much  indented  with 
liays  and  inlets,  they  «'ould  not  lell.  This  is  why  the  Sjianiards, 
even  after  the  vovat'es  (tf  IN'i'e/,  Ilci-eta  and  Uode<'a,  were  utterly 
unable  to  prepare  a  nnip  of  the  coast  wMch  wji>*  the  least  approach 
to  the  oi'i}^inal.  It  wjiw  now  they  IteiLfan  to  appreciate  the  beauties 
of  liellin's  Chart,  which  had  been  })repared  partly  from  the  worth- 
less reports  of  t!  -ir  j»r«'«leceHsors,  partly  from  the  r('p(»rts  of  eipnilly 
superlicial  Russian  explorei-s.  and  j>artly  from  imaLjimition.  Hn  llie 
>i.\teenth  of   /VujjTUst,  w  hen   the  chart    assuiM'd   tlieni   they  were  one 


H2 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMKTTE  VALLEY. 


Iiiiiidrt'd  iiiid  tlilftx  -five  leiiifues  (listaiit  from  the  Amerioaii  sluuv — 
iiiid  it  i>  diltitult  to  uiidcistand  Imw  they  could  tlattei-  tlieinselves 
that  tht'V  wt'iv  fxphdiiiLT  a  c*>n.<  line  whii-h  was  one  hundred  and 
thivtytive  leaiu^ues  di-^tant  -  they  suddenly  diseoveied  land  both  to 
the  north  and  east  of  them.  They  were  then  above  the  tifty-sixth 
parallel,  in  the  vieinity  of  a  Imge  snow-mantled  jieak,  risiuL'  ahru]>tly 
from  a  headland  on  the  coast,  which  they  christeneij  "Mount  San 
.lacinto."  This  i^  the  t.i'  nameii  '"Mount  Kdirecundi "'  h\  ('aj)tain 
("ook.  and  stands  nil  the  chief  island  "f  Kiiiu:  (leorire  III.'s  Archi- 
pcl.iLio.     Siij»|»()>iuLr  it  to   l»e  a  portion  of  the  main  land,  tli 


>an- 


'1 

aids    lauded    to  take    |>o>scs>ii»ii   in  the  name  of    tlr>ir  sovereign. 


Tl 


ley  plauteti  a  <-ross.  w  itii  a|>proj»riate  ceremonies,  and  were 


luisily 


ciiiraifetl    ill    |»rocurin<r  a  -ujiply  of  fish  and  fresh  water,  when  they 
wt'ie   suddenly  interrupted   1>\   the  native  propri»'tors.     The  ci 


l  »ss 


was  iiprootetl  in  sc(»ni  and  those  who  had  erected  it  were  Lciveii  to 
understand  that  a  ha^t\  departure  would  Ke  airreealile.  thoiiLdi  they 
were  n(»t  permitted  to  makt-  -<»  much  haste  that  payment  for  the 
Hsh  and  water  was  neijlectt'd.     Thus  eiuled  the  tiist  efToit  of  Spain 

le  «*oa.st  north  of  Califoi-nia.  They  tlien 
continued  their  northward  joiu-m-y  as  f.-ir  as  latitude  7)S",  when 
HodeuK  decided   to  1  eiriii   the  homeward   voyaire   and   «'.\plore  the 


tt»  take   possession   of    tl 


coast    hue  more  thoroiii 


udih 


The\  searched   carefullx   foi-  the   Ri< 


de  h)s  Heyes  as  far  s<nith  as  latitude  ."»4",  liut  did  not  find  it;  nor 
\\oidd  I  hey  ha '  e  found  it  hat!  it  l>een  in  existence,  since  .\dmiral 
Font*'  located  his  wonderful  stream  under  the  tifty-third  paiallel. 
'I'liey  landed  again  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  August,  in  a  little  harlwu' 
on  the  west  coast  of  IVllice  of  Wale-  Islali-I,  where  they  took  pos- 
sessi(Ui  without  interference  from  the  Indians,  and  namtd  the  j)lace 
"  Port  liiicareli."  in  hoimr  of  the  X'iceroy  under  whose  (jirections 
the\  were  acting,  and  wiujse  proud  privilege  it  was  to  pay  tin*  ex- 
penses of  the  Voyage.  ( )ccasi(niall\  observing  the  coiist  south  ()f 
tliis  point,  the\  beiian  airain,  in  latitude  4")",  to  scrutiiii/e  the 
( >regon  shore  in  -ear«'li  of  AguilarV  liiver,  and  though  tliey  oh- 
served  several  streams  of  vvatei'  entering  the  sea.  they  wwe  tiot  of 
siitticieiit  magnitutle  to  indicate  a  large  stream,  such  a.s  Aguilar  re- 
porte<l  having  seen  near  the  fi»rty-thifd  parallel  in  I'Wi.'i.  The> 
•  lid,  however.  oli-.erve  a  prominent  headland  answering  Aguilai's 
descri]>tioii  of  ("ape  Blanco.     Their  next  stopping  place  was  iti  a  hay 


FROM  CAPTAIN  CAKVEP   TO  CAPTAIN  COOK. 


H•^ 


which  the  Sonora  entered  on  tlie  tliird  of  Oetolter,  and  uhieli  lio- 
detra  MUjyposed  was  the  Hun  of  San  Francisco,  lie  learned  later 
that  it  was  a  niueli  smaller  one  lying  a  little  fui'thci'  north,  and  this 
has  ever  since  heen  known  as  P>ode<;a  liay. 

These  three  vctyages  jnstly  entitled  Spain  to  a  claim  to  the  entire 
coast  from  ('ape  ]NIendocino  <o  Mount  San  Jacinto  l>y  title  of  explo- 
ration. If  that  title  was  of  any  valne,  it  l»el(»niLred  to  Spain;  l»ut  in 
these  modern  times,  possession  is  a  far  stronger  title  than  simple 
discovery,  and  the  rnited  States  fonnd  the  claim  acqnired  fi-om 
Spain  liaid  to  dcfcn^l  against  Kngland's  actual  possession  of  the  soil. 
In  fact,  had  she  deju-nded  upon  it  at  all  ( )regon  wouM  now  l>e  a 
province  of  (treat  [ii'itain.  Accounts  of  these  important  \oyages 
did  not  reach  the  puhlic  through  the  medium  of  the  |»ress;  yet  the 
fact  that  the  Spanijirds  had  made  several  important  voyages  in  the 
Pacific,  and  were  evidently  seeking  to  take  possession  of  the  entire 
coast,  soon  became  known  in  England,  and  created  great  uneasi- 
ness. She  could  not  stand  sui»inel\  l»v  and  see  her  ancient  eneinv 
secure  a  territory  which  she  li;id  covete<l  foi  years,  e\<'r  since  the 
marauding  e.\[)editi«»n  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  two  centuries  before, 
l>ut  which,  as  yet,  she  had  made  no  direct  effort  to  rea»li  from  the 
Pacific  side.  This  yeai-,  177(),  saw  Fngland  inv<dved  in  war  witli 
her  colonies  on  the  Atlantic  C'»»ast,  yet  she  wjus  none  the  ess  eager 
to  j)lant  new  ones  at  the  other  (-.xtremity  of  the  continent.  I  lei' 
passion  for  actpiiring  Uroad  territorial  dependencies  coidd  not  We 
checked  l>y  hei' un|»leasant  ex[>eriences  with  the  confederate  colonii's 
who  had  just  de«'lared  tliemsehcs  free  and  independent.  It  is 
this  p(dicy  of  colonial  agu'randizement,  systematically  maintained 
through  long  series  of  years,  which  has  made  her  the  cent«'i'  of  an 
empire  uj)on  which  the  sun  never  st'ts,  and  in  which  In-r  "morning 
drum  heat  follows  the  course  of  the  sun  in  one  continuous  roll 
around  the  world."  Parliament  at  once  n'liewed  her  offer  made  in 
1 745,  of  a  reward  of  t'LM>,(Mi(t  for  the  disctAery  "f  the  Northwest 
Passage,  though  not  limiting  it  to  exploration  iti  Hudson's  May. 
The  reward  was  offered  to  any  \esM'l,  sailing  in  any  direction, 
through  any  straits  connecting  the  Atlantic  with  the  distant  Pacific, 
north  of  latitude  Irl". 

This  WHS  inimicid  to  the  husitjesH  interests  of  the  Hudson's  Hay 
'.'ompany.  and  conse(|Uentl\  Wft^-   picductiNt'  of  no   greater   residts 


84 


HJKTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


fliiin  tlu'  fornuT  one.     Tlu-  Admiralty  luul   l>y  this  time  become 
satisfied  tlia*^  it  whs  iis«'less  t<»  seek  for  the  passair*'  <»n  tlie  Athwitie 
si(h%  since  all  tlieir  efforts  wciv  in  some  manner  rendered  al)ortive; 
and  they  ih-cided  to  dispatch  an  expedition  to  the  Pacific  to  search 
foi'  tin-  passain'e  on  that  sid<'.  and  t()  learn,  if  |)ossil»le,  the  extent  of 
Spanish  and  Russian  occnpation.      For  this  impoi'tant  task  the  most 
renowned  naviuator  of  his  time  was  selected,  Captain  .Iam«'s  Cook, 
whose  recent  extensive  explorations  in  tlie  Sonth  Sen  and   Indian 
<  >ceaii.  extendinir  into  the  Antarctic  re<ri<>ii"^.  had  lieeii  so  thoi'(»Uirhly 
and  intelliiicntly  conducted  that  little  was  left  for  his  successors  to 
accomplish  in  the  same  Held.     It   was  vitally   necessary   that    tl»is 
means  <>!'  enterinu'  tlie  Pacific  l»e  discoxeicd  if  Knt,dand  would  jdant 
ct»lonies  in  \\\\>  rei,non,  I'or  communication  with  them  l)y  way  of  the 
Horn  or  ( 'ape  of  (Jood   Hope    would    lie   too   Ioiil;'   and    uncertain, 
'i'he  pultlic  Lia/.e  was  centered  upon  Captain  Cook,  and   durini;  the 
lour  yeais  that    pass<'d    Itetwcen   tin-  departure    and    I'etuin    of    his 
Vessels,  the  <:allaiit  na\iiiator  ami   his  mission    were   lutt    f"or<;ott<'n, 
e\en  amid  the  excitiui!  incidents  of  the  conflict  in  .\merica  and  tin- 
Liraver  poliliial  complications  in  Eurtipe.     Tlie  expedition  was  com- 
posed of  two  vessels     the  Ncso/ii/ioii.  a  craft  vviiich  had  just   taken 
Cook  aioiiiid  the  world,  and  a  consort   named   the  Discovery,  ct>m- 
maiided  l»y  Captain  Cliailes  Clerke.      In  every  particular  the  vess«*ls 
won-   fitted    for   the    ,\ork    expected   of  them.      Charts   were   pre- 
pared,   emhraciiiir  all    the    ufeoiiiaphical    knowlediic  of  the   time, 
except  that  recently  jLcained  l»y  the  Spaniardh.  the  details  of  whicli 
had  not  yet  lieen   rec<'i\t'd   in    Kiiu'land.      This    left    a    comparative 
Mank    in   the    Pacific   hetweeii    latitudes    4.'V',   the    northern    limit 
of    A«iuilar's  voyat;e.  and    .'>(')",  the  most    southerly  point    on    tlu' 
(•oast  reached    l>y  the    Kiissian    exploreis.      In    this   were   iiidicate<l 
three  important  (»liject>     the  threat    ri\<r   supposed   to  exist   some- 
where within  those  limits,  the  Straits  of   Fuca   and   the    River  of 
Kinjfs.       Cook's    iiistruetion>i    were    \er\    minute    and    paiticidar. 
FiU^dand  was  involved  in   war   with    le      .\i:ierican  colonies,  while 
her  old  enemie-*,  FratK-e  and  Spjiin,  seemed  ahoiit  to  add   mat«'rial 
aid  to  the  open  encourageiiH'iit  they  i^ave  the  striiuglint;  r«'l»els.     It 
was  inciimlH'nt  upon  her  to  do  nothinu  whatever  to  im-ur  the  op«'n 
liostilit\  of  these  warlikt   nations,  or  to  even  ^ixf  them  a  plausiltle 
excu.se  fur  declaring-  a  wai'  wiiii-h  they  seemed  n>ore  than  wiiliny;  to 


KROM  CAPTAIN  CARVER  TO  CAPTAIN  COOK. 


85 


ciiihark  i»i.     T**  thus  send  an  »'XjH'«lition  into  waters  which  Spain 
had  for  centuries  looked  uj)on  as  her  <)wn   special    inheritance,  and 
to  explore  a  coast  line   whicli  sjie  had   just  visited   and   formally 
taken  possession  of,  was  a  delicate  matter,  and   Captain   Cook    was 
relied  upon  to  do  nitthinu  to  offend  th«*  Spaniards  or  antas^onize  the 
Russians,   whom    he   was  expected    to  encounter  on   tlie  coast   of 
Alaska,     lie  wjus  instructed  to  tii-st  leach  the  coast  of  New  AlUion, 
for  such  the   Kn<flish  still  called    California,  in   latitude  4.")",  and 
was  "strictly  enjoined  on  hir.  way  thiiher,  not  to  t<tuch   u))on  any 
jiart  of  the  Spanish  d<iminion^  on  the  western  continent  of  America, 
unless  driven  to  it    hy  some  unavoidable  accident;    in  which  case 
he  should  stay  no  ionp'i"  than  should    Ite  absolutely  iie-.cssary,  and 
to  he  very  careful   not  to  i.d\f  any  undtratre  or  offense  to  any  of 
the  inhabitants  or  sultjects  of  his  Catholic  ju.ijf  >ry.     And   if.  in  his 
further  j>i"o^ress   northward,   he  should    liieet  any  suhjects  of    any 
Kin'o[»ean   |»i'iiice    or   state  (i-eferrinu  r<^  the  Russians),  upon    any 
part  of  the  coast  whit-h  he  niii^ht  think  p-'  j*  •  to  \  isit,  he  was  not  to 
distlM'li  them  or  gi\e  them  just    cause   of   ofietise,    liut,    on    the   c<tn- 
trary,  t(t   treat   them    with   civility  and   friendship."      He  was  also 
instructed  to  cxamuie  the  coast  thorouifhl\.  and   "with  the  consent 
of  the  natives,  to  t.ike  p<»ssession  in   the   name  of  the  \\\wj[  of  (ii-eat 
Hritain,  of  convenient  stations  in  such   i-<. untried  a*   he   mitrhl    dis- 
<*over  //la/  luui  not  been  already  diseoiered  or  ;'/s//e</  by  any  other 
liurofyeau  pO'nX) .    and   to   distril>ute   amomr  the   inhaliitants  such 
thintrs  as  Would  renniin  a->  traces  of  hi-  ha\  in*.'  Iieen  there;  l>ut   if 
he  shouhl  Hnd  the  countrit's  so  discovered  to  lie  nniidial'ited,  he  was 
to  *.'ike  possession  of  them  f<'r  lo-  -overeiun.  Ii\    -etiiiiLi'  up  proper 
m.-irks  and  (h'scriptioiis,  ,is  first  di<»co\eier>  and  jtosse-<ors." 

A  literal  Mdhereuc<  to  ihe>e  instru«-iion>  would  ha\e  liarred  Co<»k 
from  the  whole  «'oast,  since  Spanish  evplurers  had  \  isit«'d  and  taken 
foi'mal  possession  at  varii>u-  point-  Imt  the  year  Ix'fore  It  was 
irenerally  s\ipposed  that  the  ocean  llearne  had  <lisc(>\ cred  at  the 
mouth  v»t'  the  Ct»ppermine  River  wa-  identical  with  the  I*acitic,  and 
that  as  progression  was  made  northward  tlu'  c(»ast  wonid  lie  found 
tiendinc  sharply  to  the  east,  the  reirion  oeciipied  li\  the  Russians 
l>eii\ir  Ji  >*ca  of  islands  l>in«r  much  to  the  westward  of  tip-  main  land 
«tf  America.  Reginninii;  when  he  first  espie<l  land,  he  wa-  to  search 
for  .Vguilar's  River,  or  the  (ireat  Uiverof  the  West,  then  in  latitude 


8R 


HISTORY   OF  WILLAMKTTF.  VALl.KT. 


4S",  t()  look  for  tlic  Sti'Jiits  of  Kiicii,  and  iicni-  the  fifty-tliini 
]»jii'!illt'l  to  limil  foi-  Koiitr's  llio  (If  los  Kcycs.  I'poti  rcacliiiit;  the 
sixt\ -tiftli  jtaiiillrl  lie  was  cxjifctt'd  to  fiml  tlit-coast  trt'iidiiiLT  ra|)i(lly 
Unit  licjistw  aid  towards  the  iiioiitli  of  the  (o^jpcriiMiic:  aihl  from  that 
point  li«'  was  to  explore  carefully  "siicli  rivers  or  inlets  as  niiirlit 
ajipear  to  lie  (if  consideraMe  extent  and  pointing' toward  Hudson's 
or  HatHn's  liays."  Tlirout^li  all  sueli  he  was  to  endeavor  to  pass, 
either  in  his  lariat"  vessels  or  in  smaller  ones  to  l»e  eonsti'ueted  for 
that  |iurpose  from  materials  taken  with  him  for  that  eniei'i^eney. 
If,  however,  he  diseovei'ed  that  the  I'aeiHe  and  \orth  Sea  were  n(»t 
identical,  and  that  tlie  coast  line  tui-ned  westwai'd  or  held  a  north- 
ward course,  he  was  to  c(»ntinue  on  to  the  Uussian  settlements  at 
Kanitchatka,  and  from  that  p(»int  saile(|  northward  "  in  funher 
search  for  a  northeast  or  n(»rthwest  pnssa<;e  from  the  I'lwitic  Ocean 
into  the  Atlantic  or  North  Sea."  Cook  certaiidy  had  a  iriirantic 
task  Itefoi'e  him. 

On  (he  twelfth  of  July,  177<'>,  ciufht  days  after  the  lieli  of  In- 
dependence Hall  had  I'Uiii;  out  to  the  world  the  udad  tidiiiirs  that  a 
free  people  had  pledijed  "their  lives,  their  fortunes  jilld  their  sacivd 
honor"  in  the  cause  of  lilterty.  Cook  sailed  from  IMymouth  on  his 
mission.  He  rounded  the  Cape  of  (Jood  Hope  and  >«pent  neai'ly 
a  year  in  exploriiii^  the  coast  of  \'an  Uieman's  Land,  .Ne\v  Zea- 
land, and  the  Friendly  and  Society  yroiiiis  of  islaiids.  It  was  not 
until  the  eii^hteentli  of  January,  177^,  that  he  encountered  the 
Hawaiian  LCioup  of  islands,  making  thus  one  of  the  most  impoi'tant 
<li!S*.H)venes  ill  the  Pacific.  I'jHUl  these  he  hestowed  the  name  of 
"Siinil\N  kh  Islands,"  in  courtesy  to  the  First  J^ord  of  the  Admiralty. 
After  a  l)rief  stay  at  tliis  mid-ocean  refiiifc.  he  i-esumed  his  course 
eastward,  and  on  the  seventh  (»f  March  espied  the  coast  of  New 
Alltion.  near  the  forty-fourth  parallel.  This  was  the  coa.st  of 
( )rei;on  in  the  vicinity  of  the  rmp(iiia  Kiver.  Aflir  lnillLi  forced  l>y 
li(  idwinds  as  far  south  as  Uogue  River,  he  saileil  ii  iioilherly  course 
W(ll  out  to  sea,  and  did  not  ilgain  see  land  until  he  I'eached  latitude 
48".  To  the  ]>romiiieiit  headland  he  then  hiiw  lie  gave  the  name 
"Cape  Flattery,"  lu'cause  of  the  encouraging  conditi(tii  of  affairs. 

Immediately  north  of  Cape  Flattery  lay  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  but 
on  his  chart  the  passage  supposed  to  have  lieeii  discovered  l>y  the 
old  Greek  pilot  was  indicateil  as  lying  south  of  the  foily-eighth  par- 


KI{()M    (AI'TAIN    CAKVKK  TtMAl'TAlN   IHOK. 


ST 


allcl ;  and  so  lie  coasted  southward  to  tiiid  it,  little  iriiairiniiiii^  that  what 
he  soiiglit  was  within  a  few  miles  of  him,  and  tiiat  he  was  deliher- 
atfly  tuniiiiir  his  l>a(k  upon  it.  Naturally  he  was  unsucr«'ssful  in 
his  search,  an<l  coneliiiled  that  no  such  passaire  existed,  lie  then 
sailnl  north,  passim.;  dii-ertly  l)y  the  entranee  to  the  straits  without 
oltserving  them,  and  cast  anchor  in  Nootka  Sound,  unaware  that  it 
was  the  one  which  Perez  had  enteivd  a  few   vears  hefore  and  name(l 


l*ort  San  Lorenzo";  in  fact,  he  was  unaciiuainted  with  any  < 


t^  th 


|»articulars  of  the  recent  Spanish  voyaires.  This  jiort  he  at  first 
••ailed  "St.  (ieorLTe's  Souiid,"  l»ut  soon  chanir«'d  the  name  to  "Noot- 
ka,"  the   pro[)er    Indian   title.     The  natives   were   very  intelli>rent. 


1' 


d 


•PI 


tossessed  co|»i>ei\  H'on  aiKl  i»rass,  and  weit 


\h 


famil 


lar  w  1 


thtl 


le  mernoc 


th 


of  workiuiT  them.     They  were  »'xti'emely  friendly  and  liartered  val- 
ual)le  furs  for  trinkets  of  any  kind,   |ireferi"inif  metal  to  anythinjir 


The  \  esse  Is  were  coiistantK  sinrounded    l»v  a  fleet  of  c 


anoe 


w 


hose  occujiants  ju-id  come  for  many  miles  aloni;  the  coast  foi'  the 
purpose  of  seeiuij:  the  white  stranir«'i>*  JHid  tradini;  with  them.  Here 
he  lay  nearly  a  month,  re]»airinu'  his  ve-^sels  and  permittinnc  the  sea- 
men to  recover  from  the  ctTects  of  their  lont:'  voxaLfe.  AI»out  the 
first  tif  April  he  resumed  his  northward  <'oiirse.  In  the  vicinity  of 
the  Hfty-third  parallel  he  intended  to  search  for  .\ilmiral  l"'<tiite's 
Piverof  Kinu's,  luit  wasiliiven  to  sea  l»y  a  iraie  ami  di<l  not  auain 
see  land  until  considcraMy  north  of  that  point.  This  did  not  a[tpear 
to  him  ill  the  liu:ht  of  a  disaster,  f<H'  his  journal  says:  "For  my 
own  part  I  irave  no  credit  to  such  va^'Uc  and  iiiij»rol>altle  sttn-ies,  that 
convey  their  own  confutation  alontj  with  them;  nevertheless,  I  v\as 
very  desirous  of  keepinir  the  American  coast  aUoard,  mi  order  to  dear 
up  this  point  heyoiid  dis|iutc."'  l''iom  the  tiftytifth  parallel,  vvher<' 
he  aiLcain  saw  land,  he  continued  north,  in  fidl  view  of  the  coast, 
nliscrvinu-  the  peak  t-alled  •' San  Jacinto"  l>v  UoilcM-a,  l>ut  which 
lie  named  "  l'!dL;eciunli'  ;  iliscov  eriiiLT  ;u>d  naminir  Mount  Fair- 
weather,  and  on  the  fourth  of  May  reachim:  an  immeUM-  snow  peak, 
standiiit;  near  the  water's  edsfe,  which  he  at  once  recotrnized  as  the 
Mount  St.  Elias  discovered   liy  Pehriiiu. 

'I'he  sharp  westward  trend  of  the  coast  from  this  point  led  ("ook 
reful  search  for  the  Straits  of   Anian.  which   he 


to  h 


tl 


>eirui  there  a  ea 


hoped  t«)  find  leadini;  northward  into  the  North  Sea,  the  e.xistenee 
of  which  Ilearne  had  verified,  or  eastward  into  llmlsoirs  or  liattin's 


8H 


UIHTOKY  OF   WILLAMKTTK  VALLKT. 


Hiiv.     Tlic  Ivussiaii  cliarts  sIiowimI  this  to  Im-  tlu-  «'iiil  of  tin-  Amcri- 


CiU 


I  coutiiit'iit,  all  to  tile  westward  ItciiiL'  a  vast  sea  of  islaixis; 


roll- 


s('(|Ut'ntly  ln'  liad  t^ood  reasons  for  ('.\[)(rtiiitf  to  find  a  |tassai;('  into 
tlic  North  Sea.  lie  Ix'gan  a  diliijent  search,  ex])loi-in«;  carefully  all 
hays  )uid  inlets  aloiiir  the  coast.  Prince  William's  Sound  and 
Cook's  Inlet  received  special  attention,  and  on  his  nia|i  are  very 
accinately  laid  down.  The  latter  he  at  tirst  siijiposed  to  l»e  a 
river,  and  called  it  '"Cook's  River,"  hut  the  erroi"  was  soon  discov- 
ered. I'nsuccessful  in  tindin<f  the  desired  |>assaire  in  either  of  these 
favoralile  localities,  he  ct)ntinued  westward,  and  soon  found  the 
coast  trentliny;  toward  the  southwest.  Ilis  careful  explorations  con- 
vinced him  that  this  region  was  liy  no  means  a  sea  of  islands,  hut 
that  the  American  I'ontinent  "exteinled  much  further  to  the  west 
than,  from  the  modern  most  reputahle  chai'ts,  he  had  i-eason  to 
expect,"  and  that  the  Russians  had  heen  extremely  suj)erlicial  in 
their  exploiations.  lie  determined  to  ahandon  his  jncsent  effort 
and  to  follow  the  coast  line  to  its  termination,  and  then  to  ent«r 
Bt Urine's  Straits.  On  the  nineteeenth  (»f  June  he  fell  in  with  the 
SclunMaifim  Islands,  where  hv  saw  the  Hrst  tokt-ns  of  Russian  pi-es- 
ence  in  Miat  regit)n.  One  of  the  many  natives  who  swarmed  ahout 
the  vessel  possessed  a  piei'e  of  [)apt  i',  upon  which  was  writiuLj 
which  he  conceiv«'d  to  Im-  in  the  Russian  lanirua<re.  When  he  had 
|)assed  the  Aleutian  Islan<ls,  he  sailed  ai'ound  them  to  the  north, 
and    then    returned   eastward,  soon   reachinij   the    laru^e   island    of 


Ounalaska,  where  he  renuiined  Hve  davs  without 


encounteriuif  any 


Russians,  thouirh  he  knew  this  t»)  he  an  important  station  in  the  fur 
trade.  On  the  second  of  July  he  resumetl  his  search  for  an  eant- 
ward  |»assai;e,  sailiiiir  northerly  aloni,'  the  west  coast  of  the  Alaskan 
Peninsula.  He  reached  a  point  on  the  ninth  of  Auuust  which  he 
|»ro[)eily  concluded  was  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  America, 
since  the  coast  heyond  ti'ended  steadily  to  the  eastwai'd.  This  he 
mimed  ''Caj)e  Pi'ince  of  Wales."  He  then  crossed  Rehring's 
Strait  and  followed  the  Asiatic  C'oast  on  the   Arctic  side  as  far  as 


( 


ai)( 


P 


Xortl 


1.  m 


latit 


ude  (IS"  and  ."iC 


Ret 


urnmg 


to  tl 


le   American 


side,  he  jtroceeded  Iteyond  Ca])e  Prince  of  Wales  until  his  proijfress 
was  arrested  l)y  the  ice  in  latituih'  70"  and  •_".»'.  This  point  he 
named  "  Icy  Cape,"  and  then  retiu'netl  to  Ounalaska,  where  he  found 
a  few  Russian  fui'  traders  who  were  greatl}  sui'prised  to  learn  how 


FnOM  CAPTAIN  rAKVKI!  TO  <AI'TAIN'  TOOK. 


S«) 


('iT(tiU'OUH  had  Itj'cn  the  opinioiiH  they  ontertjiined  of  the  jreogi-apliy 
of  the  N(»rth  Paeific.  From  Oiiiiahiskji  li«'  saile<|  (lir<'('tly  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  where  lie  sjteiit  the  winter. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  February,  1770,  wliile  j)rej)aiinj^  to  renew 
his  voya<^e,  he  was  shiin  in  an  iinfortuinite  encounter  with  the 
natives  of  Hawaii,  and  notwitlistandins;  the  fact  that  every  museum 
in  Knj^hmd  and  America  has  on  exhibition  "the  club  that  kilh'd 
Captain  Cook,"  it  is  a  well  authenticated  fact  that  he  was  slain  with 
a  s|)»'ar.  The  command  now  devolved  upon  Captain  Clerk<',  wh»»se 
ill  health  sci'iously  affected  the  future  nKtveniellts  of  the  expedition. 
The  loss  <;f  C'ook  vvHs  a  calamity.  ( 'lerke  sailed  in  March,  with  the 
desi<rii  of  pusiiiiiir  still  fui-tlu-r  eastward  in  the  North  Sea,  and,  if 
possible,  passinj^  by  that  route  into  the  Atlantic.  <  )n  his  way  he 
entered  the  May  of  Avatscha,  and  cast  anchor  in  the  Harbor  of 
Petroj>aulovski,  the  chief  settlement  of  Kamtcliatka.  The  Kiissian 
otHcials  received  the  visitors  with  i^ieat  courtesy,  beiiii;  ^dad  of  an 
opjiortunity  to  learn  of  the  geo<;raphii'al  discoveries  the  Knulish- 
men  had  made.  The  voyajre  was  then  resumed,  but  iuMiorance  of 
the  clinuitic  pecidiarities  of  the  Arctic  region  had  led  him  to  under- 
take the  passai^e  too  early  in  the  S|)rini;.  The  couse<pience  was 
that  he  was  prevented  by  ice  from  proirressinj^  even  jls  far  as  the 
season  before,  and  returned  to  Petropaulovski  with  the  conviction 
that  no  northern  pjLssat;e  existed  Ix'tween  the  Atlantic  and  Pa- 
cific oceans.  lieim;  in  ill  health,  Clerke  lay  at  anchor  in  th«' 
Russian  harbor  until  the  twenty-sec(Hid  of  Autrust,  when  he  died. 
The  conunand  of  the  expedition  then  devolved  upon  Lieutenant 
John  (tore,  who  sailed  at  once  for  Emjland  by  the  way  of  Canton 
and  the  Caju*  of  (iood  Hope,  deemiui;  his  vessels  unfit  to  encounter 
another  s<'ason  in  the  Arctii*. 

The  obj(  :  u'  /oini;  to  Canton  was  to  dispose  of  a  lar<;e  collec- 
tion of  furs  both  ;!ie  xium  and  oHicers  had  made,  chieHy  by  tradinj^ 
for  them  wit"!  rln  natives  of  Nootka  St)un(l.  They  had  not  l)een 
purchased  for  iiiarket,  nor  had  they  been  selected  accordiuij  to  their 
conunercial  value,  and  many  had  been  rendered  unsalable  by  beini>' 
use<l  for  dothini;  and  beds.  It  was  only  when  the  Russians  offered 
a  lar<jje  price  for  them  that  they  realized  the  value  (»f  what  they 
possessed;  but  as  tlu'  traders  iiad  inadvertently  told  them  what 
great  profits  they  made  by  shipping  furs  to  Canton,  they  declined 


^nj 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


A 


<^4. 


® 


1.0    !f '-  i 


I.I 


2.5 

M 
2.0 


11.25 


n:  1^     A^ 


111= 
1.4    11.6 


$ 


/} 


e 


n 


A^^ 


'W 


^ 


/A 


'/ 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  V^«T  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(n6)  r72-4503 


7.x 


^ 


\\ 


•s 


90 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


to  sell,  preferring  to  take  them  to  the  better  market.  For  this 
miscellaneous  collection  of  furs  the  Chinese  paid  them  $10,000. 
The  men  became  excited  at  the  prospect.  The  thought  of  return- 
ing to  England  without  engaging  for  a  time  in  the  fur  trade  made 
them  rel)ellious,  notwithstanding  they  had  been  afloat  over  three 
years.  As  the  narrative  of  the  \'o}age  says,  they  be(;ame  "  possessed 
with  a  rage  to  return  to  the  northern  coast,  and,  by  anothei*  cargo 
of  skins,  to  make  their  fortunes,  which  was,  at  one  time,  not  far 
from  mutiny."  The  rebellious  crew  wa.s  reduced  to  subordination, 
and  the  llome^vard  voyage  Avas  resumed. 

It  was  early  in  Octolver,  1780,  that  the  Resohdion  and  Discovery 
reached  England,  after  an  alxsence  of  ft)ur  years  and  three  months, 
during  which  time  the  coinitry  had  l)een  engaged  in  war  with  her 
American  colonies  and  her  tivo  immemorial  enemies  across  the  chan- 
nel. Cook  and  his  expe(liti<>n  had  almost  become  forgotten  in  the 
excitement  of  current  events,  and  the  return  of  the  vessels  wdth  in- 
telligence of  the  death  of  the  two  senior  commanders  and  of  the 
geographical  discoveries  which  had  V)ee)i  made,  was  an  luiexpected 
surprise.  Until  the  complications  of  war  were  removed,  England 
had  neither  time  nor  iiclination  to  attempt  further  discoveries  or 
plant  new  colonies,  and  so  the  Lords  of  Admiralty  pigeon-holed  the 
official  I'ecord  of  the  vo}'age,  to  })e  pid)lLshed  after  the  conclusion  of 
peace.  They  could  not  seal  the  lips  of  the  seamen,  \vho  scattered 
about  the  story  of  their  adventures,  and  the  w^onderful  ])rofits  to  be 
gained  in  l)uying  furs  for  nothing  from  the  Indians  on  tlie  American 
side  of  the  Pacific,  and  selling  them  for  a  great  deal  to  the  (Chinese 
on  the  Asiatic  side.  One  of  these  seamen,  John  Led  yard,  an  Amer- 
ican, endeavored  to  influence  American  and  French  caj)italists  in  a 
fur  enterprise,  l)ut  unsuccessfully.  He  then  conceived  the  idea  of 
traveling  around  the  world  by  way  of  Kussia,  Siberia,  the  Pacific 
and  America.  Having  secured  a  passport-  from  the  Empress  of 
Russia,  he  traveled  as  far  as  Irkutsk,  when  he  was  arrested,  con- 
ducted to  the  Polish  frontier  and  released  upon  the  condition  that 
he  never  again  enter  the  empire.  This  arbitrary  act  is  ascribed  to 
the  influence  of  the  Russian  fur  monopoly,  which  did  not  relish  the 
idea  of  foreigners  prying  into  their  business. 

While  Cook's  vessels  were  lying  at  Hawaii,  and  only  nine  days 
before  the  famous  commander  was  killed,  another  Spanish  expedi- 


FROM  CAPTAIN  CARVKK  TO  CAPTAIN  COOK. 


91 


tion  sailed  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  in  the  North  Pacific.  This 
was  not  caused  by  Cook's  movements,  for  the  Spanish  authorities 
were  unaware  of  his  presence  in  the  Pacific,  but  was  the  result  of 
the  government's  desii-e  to  examli.:  the  northern  regions  more  criti- 
cally than  Bodega  and  Heceta  had  done.  After  three  years  of 
preparation  the  Princess  and  Favorita  sailed — the  former  com- 
manded by  Ignacio  Arteaga  and  the  latter  by  Bodega  and  Maurelle. 
The  route  of  the  vessels  was  much  the  same  as  that  traversed  by 
Hodega  and  Cook,  and  nothing  of  importance  was  noticed  which 
had  not  been  seen  by  those  explorers.  When  they  observed  the 
coast-line  beyond  Mount  St.  Elias  to  trend  westward,  they  began 
searching  for  the  Straits  of  Anian,  as  had  Cook  the  year  before,  but 
were  l)y  no  means  as  thorough  as  the  English  navigator  had  been. 
Arteaga  lacked  the"  quality  of  perseverance  under  disappointment 
and  hardships  which  is  so  necessary  to  the  successful  explorer,  and 
discouraged  by  his  want  of  success,  and  fiightened  l)y  the  appear- 
ance of  scurvy  symptoms  among  his  crew,  ordered  the  vessels  }>ack 
to  San  Bias.  Instead  of  being  reprimanded  for  the  superficial  nature 
of  his  ex[)lorations,  his  faulty  observations  and  useless  charts,  he  and 
his  associates  were  rewarded  by  promotion.  Spain  was  now  well 
satisfied  of  the  extent  and  value  of  the  coast  to  the  north,  but  being 
involved  in  war  was  compelled  to  postpone  any  effort  at  coloniza- 
tion until  her  foreign  complications  were  at  an  end. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


SPAIN'S  SUPREMACY  IN  THE  PACIFIC  OVERTHROWN. 

The  Ru man- American  Trading  Company — France  sends  La  Perouse 
to  the  Pacific — James  Ilanna  i/uckes  the  First  Voyage  in  the  Fur 
Trade  from  England. — England'' s  Short-sighted  Policy  of  Granting 
Monopoly  Charters — The  East  India  Company  and  South  Sea  Com.- 
pany — Their  Conflicting  Interests  Leads  to  the  Organization  of  the 
King  George's  Sound  Company — Belief  that  North  America  above 
Latitude  ^9°  was  an  Archipelago  of  Huge  Islands — First  Voyage  of 
Captain  Meares — His  Terrible  "Winter  on  the  Alaskan  Coast — Cap- 
tain Barclay  Discovers  the  Straits  of  Fuca — Meares  Engages  in  the 
Fur  Trade  under  the  Portuguese  Flag — He  Builds  the  Schooner 
'•'■Northwest  America  "  at  Nootka  Sou?id  Explores  the  Straits  of 
Fuca — His  Unsuccessful  Search  for  the  liio  de  San  Itoque — Decep- 
tion Bay  and  Cape  Disappointment — The  United,  States  Enters  the 
Contest  for  Control  of  the  Pacific  Coast — The  '•'■Columbia  Rediviva''' 
and  '■'■Lady  Washington  " — The  Latter  Attacked,  by  Indians,  and  the 
Former  Suj^plies  Spain  with  an  Opportunity  to  Promulgate  her  Doc- 
trine of  Exclusive  Rights  in  the  Pacific  Martines  sent  to  Explore 
the  Coast  and  Investigate  the  Russians — His  Report  of  Russian 
Operations  Causes  Spain  to  Send  a  Remonstrance  to  the  Empress — 
Martinez  Fortifies  Nootka  and  Takes  Possession  in  the  Nante  of  the 
King  of  Spain — He  Seizes  the  ^'Iphigenia  "  and  '■'■Northwest  Ameri- 
ca " — Colnett  and  Iliidson  arrive  in  the  '■'•Argonaut  "  and  '•'■Princess 
Royal'''' — Are  made  Prisoner's  by  Martinez  and  sent  to  Mexico — 
The  Prisoners  Released  and  Vessels  Restored — Controversy  between 
England  and  Spain  Terminated  by  the  Nootka  Convention — Stipu- 
lations of  the  Treaty  Displease  both  Parties. 


THE  first  to  avail  theniselv^es  of  the  discoveries  made  by  Cook 
were  the  Russians    They  were  not  embroiled  in  war  with  any 
nation  contending  for  supremacy  in  America,  nor  with  any  other 


SPAIN  8  HUPREMACy  IN  THE  PACIFIC  OVERTHROWN. 


93 


power  which  could  attack  their  Pacific  possession.s.  Cook's  voyage 
opened  their  eyes  to  the  nature  and  value  of  the  fur  regions,  and 
they  resolved  to  enter  deeply  into  that  ^vhich  they  had  heen  simply 
skimming  for  forty  years.  The  Kussian- American  Trading  Com- 
pany was  organized  in  17H1.  Two  years  later  three  vessels  were 
sent  from  Petropaulovski,  to  establish  stations  on  the  islands  and 
main  land  as  far  east  as  Prince  A\'illiani's  Sound.  Three  years 
were  consumed  in  this  work.  The  hold  Russia  then  took  u[)on 
Ahiska  was  not  rela.Ked  until  that  I'egion  was  pui'chased  by  the 
United  States  nearly  a  century  later  (in  ISOT)  foi-  S7,20(),()(»(>. 

The  first  official  \-oyage  made  by  the  contending  nations,  after 
the  Treaty  of  (rhent  Avas  signed,  was  sent  out  by  France,  In  the 
winter  of  17M4-5  Cook's  journal  was  published,  and  though  the 
"ya.rns"  of  his  sailors  had  been  freely  circulated,  this  was  a  reve- 
lation tt»  the  peo])le,  and  caused  much  eagerness  to  be  displayed  to 
take  advantage  of  the  golden  opportunity  tiierein  pointed  out.  The 
French  government  immediately  dispatched  a  skillful  and  scientific 
navigator,  named  La  Perouse,  with  instructit»ns  to  "explore  the  parts 
of  the  northwestern  coast  of  America  wliich  had  not  l>een  examined 
by  Cook,  and  of  which  the  Kussian  accounts  gave  no  idea,  in  order 
to  obtain  information  respecting  the  fur  trade,  and  also  to  learn 
wliether,  in  those  unknown  })arts,  some  I'iver  or  intei'nal  sea  might 
not  be  found  commimicating  with  Hudson's  Bay,  or  Baffin's  Bay." 
La  Per<mse  sailed  in  ITSf),  and  on  the  twenty-third  of  Jime,  178«), 
readied  the  American  Coast  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Fairweather. 
After  remaining  sevei'al  weeks  at  anchor,  lie  proceeded  slowly  south- 
ward, minutely  examining  the  coast,  and  discovering  that  the  places 
where  the  F^nglish  and  Spanish  exjdorei-s  liad  formerly  landed  were 
not  on  the  mahi  land,  but  on  a  long  range  of  islands  which  fi'inge 
the  coast.  For  tliis  important  dis(-o\  ery  he  received  no  credit,  as 
his  vessels  were  wrecked  in  the  New  Hebrides  on  the  return  voyage, 
and  his  journal  was  not  published  for  ten  years,  long  after  othar 
explorers  hat!  dist-overed  the  same  facts  and  made  them  known  to 
the  w^orld. 

The  first  successful  venture  in  the  fur  trade  was  made  by  James 
Hanna,  an  Englishman,  who  sailed  from  the  Portuguese  East  India 
port  of  Macao,  in  17^5,  secured  a  load  of  furs  at  Nootka  Sound, 
and  disposed  of  them  in   China  for  $2(),()()().     The  next  year  he 


94 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


re])eatt'(.l  the  voyage,  luit  found  that  other  traders  had  arrived, 
whose  c»>mpetition  prevented  the  securing  of  a  good  cargo;  also, 
that  the  Chinese  market  was  glutted  with  this  avalanche  of  furs. 
There  was  no  profit  in  the  business  that  year.  England  adopted 
an  extremely  short-sighted  policy  in  her  treatment  of  the  Pacific 
question,  and  surrendered  her  claims  into  the  hands  of  private 
monopolies.  A  century  before,  eager  to  disct)ver  the  long-st»ught 
Northwest  Passage,  she  chartered  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
giaiiting  it  almost  royal  power,  and  conferring  upon  it  absolute 
dominion  in  that  vast  region  whose  waters  fall  into  Hudson's  Bay. 
Two  centuries  lui\e  gone  l»y  and  it  is  still  a  wilderness.  In  her 
anxiety  to  eonuuand  the  conunerce  of  the  Pacific,  and  plant  her 
foot  on  the  western  slun-e  of  America,  she  again  committtil  the 
fatal  erroi'  of  delegating  lier  powers  to  private  and  selfish 
monoj)(»lies.  At  that  time  the  East  India  Company  was  already 
finnly  esial»lishe<l  in  India,  and  had  laid  well  the  foundation  of 
that  power  which  lia.s  since  added  the  title  of  "  Emi)ress  of  tl)e 
Indies"  to  the  cri»wn  of  England.  To  this  gigantic  coii)oration 
waw  granted  the  monopoly  of  all  trade  with  the  port.s  t»f  Asia  and 
adjacent  islands — all  other  subjects  of  Great  Britain  being  pnthib- 
ited  from  trading  under  severe  penalties.  A  new  assiK'iation, 
called  the  "  South  Sea  Cimipany,"  wjis  chartered,  upon  which  was 
conferred  the  exclusive  privilege  of  trade  on  the  American  Coast. 
Thus  was  the  wlK»le  commerce  of  the  Pacific,  so  far  as  England 
was  concernetl,  j,''ven  intt)  the  hands  of  two  corporations,  and  all 
other  su])jects  of  Great  Britain,  no  matter  how  eager  they  might  ]>e 
to  embark  in  the  fur  trade  and  exjtlore  the  unknoAvn  mysteries  of 
the  grent  South  Sea,  were  debarred  from  so  doing.  No  English 
ships  could  pass  aroimd  Cape  Horn  save  those  of  the  South  Sea 
Com[)any,  \vhile  the  ensign  of  the  powerful  East  India  Company 
must  fly  at  the  mastdiead  of  every  British  vessel  that  doublnl  the 
Cape  of  Good  IIo2)e.  It  wjis  of  course  the  supposition  that  these 
two  corporations,  being  rich  and  powerful,  wt)uld  at  once  end>ark 
in  the  fur  trade  on  an  extensive  scale,  and,  as  the  rei)resentatives 
of  the  British  crown,  woidd  lay  k«  broad  and  deej)  a  foundation  for 
English  power  on  the  American  Coast  and  the  Islands  of  the 
Pacific,  as  one  of  them  had  already  done  in  the  land  of  the  Brah- 
mins.    Such  was  not  the  case,  owing  primarily  to  the  coiiflieting 


SPAIN  S  SUPKKMACY   IN   THK   PACIFIC  (tVKKTHKOWX. 


95 


interests  of  the  two  compauies.  The  great  fur  market  Mas  China, 
l)ut  fi'om  the  ports  of  that  coni])any  the  shi[)s  of  the  South  Sea 
Company  were  debarred  l»y  tlie  exchisive  trade  ))rivileges  of  the 
rival  association.  Nor  was  tlie  East  India  Company  more  happily 
situated;  ^^^th  complete  control  of  England's  commerce  in  Asiatic 
ports,  it  was  excluded  frt»m  the  fur-producing  coast  of  America. 
One  controlled  the  st)urce  of  su])ply  and  the  other  the  market,  and 
neither  could  accomplish  anything.  The  chasm  between  the  rival 
companies  was  bridged  by  the  organization  of  a  third  one — the 
King  (xeorge's  Sound  Company.  This  association  was  formed  iri 
ITS,"),  and  was  granted  special  permits  from  both  monojiolies, 
eiialtling  it  to  embark  in  the  Pacific  fur  trade  under  favorable 
auspices,  Two  vessels  were  dispatched  by  this  company,  the  King 
George  and  Queen  Charlotte,  connnauded  l)y  C/aptains  Portlock 
ami  Dixon,  They  traded  two  years  without  paying  expenses,  the 
Cliinese  nuu-ket  havuig  been  flooded  by  this  sudden  shoAver  of 
fur.  Two  (,)ther  \essels  sent  the  next  year  by  the  same  company, 
and  which  reached  Nootka  in  ITsT,  prior  to  the  retmii  of  Portlock 
and  Dixon  to  Enghmd,  were  e(|ually  unsuccessful,  and  the  South 
Sea  Company  suddenly  colla[)sed.  Shares  in  the  company,  which 
it  had  fornudly  taken  fortunes  to  j)urchase,  were  thrown  into  the 
street,  and  the  projectors  of  the  enterprise  )>arely  escaped  the  rude 
clutches  of  a  mob.  The  South  Sea  Bid»ble  was  completely  Inirsted. 
These  tradei's,  in  passing  uj)  and  down  the  coast,  learned  what 
\a\  Perouse  had  discovered  two  years  before — that  all  points  north 
of  Nootka  yet  vi>  .'d  by  traders  and  ex[)lorei's,  were  but  islands  and 
not  portions  of  the  main  land.  The  former  llussian  idea  of  the 
iegi(m  occupied  by  them  was  revived,  and  extended  to  embrace  the 
whole  northern  [)oi'tion  of  America.  It  was  conceived  that  not  a 
continent,  but  an  immense  archij)elago  of  islands  occupiei  that  re- 
gion, and  that  through  the  channels  separatnig  them  it  wa«  possible 
to  reach  the  Atlantic.  This  idea  was  also  suj)ported  twt)  years 
later  by  Captain  Meares,  who  assigned  as  one  of  his  rensons  for  hold- 
ing the  belief,  that  "the  chainiels  of  this  archipelago  were  found  to 
be  \sv}i^  and  capacious,  with  neai-  two  hundred  fathoms  deep  of 
water,  and  huge  promontories  stretching  tmt  into  the  sea,  where 
whales  and  sea-«ttters  were  seen  in  incredible  abimdance.  In  some 
of  these  channels  there  are  islands  of  ice,  wdiich  we  may  venture  to 


96 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLKT. 


isiiy  could  uevi'i-  have  foimeil  on  the  western  side  of  America,  which 
posses.se.s  a  uiihl  and  xutnlerate  cluuate;  so  that  their  existence  can 
not  l)e  reconcileil  ti>  any  other  idea,  than  that  they  received  theli* 
formation  in  the  ea-tern  seas,  and  have  been  drifted  l>y  the  tides 
and  currents  throuirh  the  i>assage  for  whose  existence  we  ai'e  con- 
tending." He  was  not  aware  that  the  Ahi-ska  ghiciei-s  were  con- 
stantly dropidng  frozen  i^fFerings  into  the  sea.  A  few  yeai-s  hiter 
Ca])tain  Vancouver  denn»nstrated  the  fallacy  of  this  theoiy,  and 
gave  us  the  tiiNt  correct  i<lea  of  the  American  continent  with  its 
coast  fringe  of  islands. 

In  1 7M<i  the  great  Kar^t  India  Com}>any,  either  having  made  some 
connnercial  arrangement  with  the  South  Sea  Comi>any,  or  purposely 
infringing  upon  the  chartereil  rights  of  the  rival  organization,  dis- 
patched two  small  vessels  to  the  American  Coast  for  fin's.  They 
met  with  sutticient  success  to  enconrage  the  ct>mpany  to  engage  in 
the  ])Usiness  on  a  larger  scale;  consetpieutly,  two  vessels  were  titte<l 
out,  the  jVoo/hi  an«l  Sea-Oi/cr^  in  1787,  and  dispatched  to  Nootka 
Sound,  which  was  then  the  objective  point  of  all  fm'  tradei-s.  The 
former  was  under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Meares,  a  former 
lieutenant  of  the  royal  navy,  and  the  latter  by  Lieutenant  A\'alter 
Tipping. 

The  Sca-O/hr  folk>weil  the  Japan  Ciment  nutii  she  reachetl  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  and  then  coasting  .along  eastward  arrived  at  Pidnce 
William's  Si>und.  Thus  far  wji-s  she  traced  by  her  consort,  biit  be- 
yond that  j)oint  her  movements  never  were  known,  nor  wa.s  she 
ever  heard  from  again.  She  wa«  probaldy  swamped  in  mid  oeean, 
for  ha(.l  she  l>een  wTecked  on  the  cojist  some  traces  of  her  would 
have  been  disco veretl  by  the  natives  and  reported  to  the  traders. 
The  Nootka  followKl  the  same  general  course,  and  came  to  anchor 
in  Prince  William's  Sound  about  theiii-st  of  October,  Captain  Mearw* 
designing  to  spend  the  winter  in  that  port  and  resiuue  the  voyage 
along  the  coast  in  the  spring.  Unacquainteti  with  the  climatic  con- 
ditions, he  had  selecteil  a  j>lace  sufficiently  removed  fi-om  the  path 
of  the  Japan  Cm'rent  and  its  branches  to  be  practically  Ijeyond  it* 
influemies,  and  thus  a  place  where  all  the  rigors  of  an  Arctic  winter 
prevailed.  During  Octf)l>er,  November  and  even  December,  the 
climate  way  generally  plea.sant  and  always  endiu'able,  but  there  sud- 
denly came  a  change.     All  the  chilling  winds  of  the  Borean  cave 


SPAIN  S  SUPREMACY  IN   THE  PACIFIC  OVEKTHKOWN. 


97 


were  unchained,  and  howled  about  the  vessel,  which  was  soon  hf»und 
in  icy  fetters  and  buried  beneath  the  drifting  sno^v.  The  migratory 
Indians  disappeared  in  search  of  a  more  agreeable  al»ode,  and  ^vere 
([uickly  followed  by  all  animal  and  aquatic  life.  The  sun  hid  its 
face,  save  for  a  few  moments  at  midday,  when  it  seemed  to  raise  its 
head  above  the  horizon  to  cast  a  derisive  glance  U))on  the  sufferers, 
and  then  quickly  disappeared,  Meares'  journal  says:  "  Tremendout< 
mountains  forl)a(le  almost  a  sight  oi  the  sky,  and  cast  their  noctur- 
nal shadows  over  the  ship  in  the  midst  of  day."  Dejtrived  of  proper 
focHil  and  exercise,  the  imprisoned  crew  were  quickly  attacked  with 
scurvy,  whose  horrible  ravages  it  was  impossible  to  check.  Twenty- 
three  died  during  the  four  months  of  their  imprisoiuiient,  while  the 
othei*s  were  rendered  so  feeble  as  to  l>e  unfit  to  perform  duty.  At 
hist,  in  May,  tiie  ice  released  the  vessel  from  its  confining  grasp; 
animals  and  birds  returned,  the  natives  again  appeaivd,  and  won  to 
health  and  stren£fth  by  fi-esh  food  and  the  invi<joratinu'  ra\s  of  the 
sun,  the  afflicted  crew  were  soon  ready  to  resume  the  voyage.  Dis- 
heartened by  his  terrible  experience,  and  rendered  short-handed  by 
the  death  of  so  many  of  his  seamen,  Mears  sailed  in  June  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  and  fi'om  there  j)roceeded  to  China.  Discouraged 
by  these  two  disjistroiis  voyages,  the  East  India  Company  abandoned 
the  Pacific  fur  trade  and  confined  its  attention  to  the  enormous  com- 
merce of  India. 

Another  vessel  w^as  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  in  1787,  the  Impe- 
rial Eagle^  ])elonging  to  the  Austrian  Ea.st  India  Company,  and 
commanded  V»y  Captain  Barclay,  or  Berkeley,  an  Englishman  ^vhose 
name  is  perpetuated  in  Barclay  Sound,  on  the  west  coast  of  Van- 
couver Island.  Nothing  is  remarkable  in  connection  with  this  voy- 
age but  the  discovery  of  what  was  then  believed  to  be  the  much 
sought  and  generally  uncredited  Straits  of  Fuca,  only  a  few  miles 
north  of  the  location  assigned  by  the  old  Greek  2)ilot  to  the  passage 
he  claimed  to  have  entered.  This  Barclay  observed  wliile  passing 
southward  across  the  entrance;  but  he  made  no  effort  to  explore  it, 
simply  entering  its  location  upon  his  chart.  He  continued  his 
course,  and  at  the  month  of  a  small  river  just  above  the  Isla  de 
Dolores,  where  Bodega  had  lost  a  portion  of  his  crew-  a  few  years 
before  at  the  hands  of  ine  natives,  sent  a  boat's  crew  ashore,  who 
met  a  similar  iate  to  that  which  had  befallen  their  Spanish  prede- 


# 


98 


HISTOHY  OP'  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


ct'ssoi's.  Ill  c'ommeinoratioii  of  the  sad  event  be  chrUtened  the  ill- 
fated  phiee  "  Destruction  llivei',"  a  title  which  was  later.  l»y  i»ne  of 
thos«»  errors  incident  to  inii\)  making,  ti'ansferred  to  the  adjacent 
Island. 

When  Captain  Meares  returned  to  China  fiom  his  unfortunate 
winter  in  Prince  Willianrs  Sound,  he  did  not,  like  the  East  In<lia 
Company,  al)Hndon  the  fur  trade;  on  the  eontrar}-.  he  ^nteivd  into 
it  on  his  (»wn  res])onsi})ilit}'.  In  order  to  avoid  tlie  re>tricti«»n  placetl 
upon  British  subjects  by  the  chaitei-s  Parliament  had  granted  the 
two  great  monopolies,  he  entered  into  a  ct»nunercial  arrangement 
with  Juan  Cavallo,  a  Portuguese  merchant  of  Macao,  a  jnjrt  near 
Canton  belonsiinff  to  the  croAni  of  Portuiral.  Two  vessels  were 
fitted  out  and  commissioned  l>y  the  Portuguese  Governor  of  Macao, 
nominally  belonging  to  Senor  Cavallo,  and  having  Pt»rtuguese  cap- 
tains named  in  their  shipping  papei-s.  Nominally.  Meares  went  in 
the  ship  Felice  Advenhirer  an  supercargo.  tht»ugh  actually  in  com- 
mand; and  William  Douglas  occu})ied  the  same  jiosition  in  the 
Iphigenia  Niibiana.  A  double  pui-j^ose  wjis  sene*l  by  tha-i  cloth- 
ing the  enterprise  with  Portuguese  apparel,  as  sj)eeial  privileges  were 
enjoyed  by  the  sul)jects  of  that  nation  in  the  jjorts  of  China.  Just 
what  interest  Cavallo  and  the  two  n«»minal  cajitain**  had  in  the 
enterprise  is  uncertain ;  for  Meares,  a-*  long  as  hLs  interest*  lay  in  that 
dii'ectioii,  asserted  that  tlie  undertaking  was  purely  a  Poitugiiese 
one,  but  when  circumstances  placed  the  balance  of  interest  on  the 
other  side,  as  strenuously  asserted  that  he  alone  was  the  owner  and 
manager  of  the  enterprise.  The  Iphigenia  saUed  for  Cook's  Inlet, 
where  she  was  to  begin  operations,  and  trade  sonthward  along  the 
coast  until  she  reached  Nootka  Sound  and  united  with  her  consort. 
The  Felice  headed  for  Nootka  direct,  where  she  arrived  early  in  the 
spring  of  1788.  Immediately  upon  reaching  that  general  rendez- 
vous of  the  fur  trade,  Meares  began  the  coiLstmction  of  a  small 
schooner  for  the  pur[)Ose  of  coasting  along  the  shore  to  trade  with 
the  Indians.  He  secured  from  Ma([uiuna,  the  chief,  ijemussion  to 
erect  a  small  house  to  shelter  his  men  while  at  work  upon  the  craft, 
the  consideration  for  this  privilege  being  a  brace  of  pistols  and  the 
house  and  contents  Avhen  he  should  finally  de|)art  from  that  re^on. 
Leaving  his  builders  at  work,  the  house  having  V«een  erected  and 
encompassed  by  a  rampart  of  eaith,  fi'om  which  frowned  the  rusted 


SPAIN  S  SUPREMACY   IN  TIIK  PACIFIC  OVEKTIIKOVVN. 


!>•.> 


nioutli  of  a  diminutive  cannon,  Meares  sailed  down  the  coast  in 
search  of  the  passage  reported  by  Barclay  as  havini;  been  seen  by 
him  the  year  before.  June  29,  1788,  he  observed  a  broad  inlet  in 
latitude  48"  39'.  Thou<di  in  the  introduction  to  his  narrative  he 
states  that  "^he  ol)servations  of  Captain  liarclay  \vei"e  known  to  him, 
in  the  journal  itself  he  takes  the  full  credit  of  the  discovery,  saying: 
— "The  coast  ah)nf'  whi''h  we  wer«'  now  sailing  had  not  been  seen 
by  Ca})tain  Cook,  and  we  know  of  no  other  navigator  said  to  have 
been  this  way  except  Maurelle."  He  continues:  "  From  the  mast- 
head it  was  observed  to  stretch  to  the  east  by  the  north,  and  a  clear 
and  unbounded  liorizon  was  seen  in  this  direction  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  The  strongest  cm'iosity  impelled  us  to  enter  this  strait, 
which  we  shall  call  ]»y  the  name  of  its  original  discoverer,  John  de 
Fuca."  The  mate  of  the  Felice^  John  Duffin,  was  dispatched  wdtli 
a  boat's  crew  of  thirteen  men  and  a  month's  provisions,  to  explore 
the  strait.  In  a  ^veek  tliey  returned,  all  of  them  having  been 
wounded  in  a  conflict  with  the  natives.  Ten  miles  up  the  passage 
(according  to  Duffin's  statement,  but  thirty  as  given  by  Meares), 
they  were  fiercely  attacked  by  Indians,  who  fought  ^vith  great  des- 
}>eratittn  and  seemed  not  to  be  intimidated  by  either  the  noise  or 
deadly  effect  of  the  guns.  Their  weapons  were  clul>s,  arrows,  stone 
bludgeons,  spears  and  slings,  all  of  which  they  handled  Avitli  great 
skill.  So  fierce  was  their  onslaught  and  so  effectively  did  they  use 
tlieir  weapons  that  only  to  the  protection  afforded  the  seamen  by 
the  boat's  awning  was  due  theii*  escape  with  their  lives. 

Having  found  Fuca's  Strait,  or  one  which  he  believed  to  be  the 
passage  spoken  of  by  Lock,  he  sailed  soutlnvard  in  search  of  the  Rio 
de  San  Roque  of  the  S2)aiiiard  Heceta.  On  the  sixth  of  July  he 
discovered  a  promontory  which  he  believed  to  be  the  one  Heceta 
had  named  "  Cabo  de  San  Roque."  He  describes  his  subsecpient 
movements  as  follows: 

After  we  had  rounded  the  promontory  a  hirge  bay,  as  we  had  imagined,  opened 
to  our  view,  that  bore  a  very  promising  appearance,  and  into  it  we  steered  with 
every  encouraging  expectation.  The  higli  land  that  forme<l  the  boundaries  of  the 
bay  was  at  a  great  distance,  and  a  Hat,  level  country  occupied  the  intervening  space ; 
the  bay  itself  took  rather  a  westerly  direction.  As  we  steered  in,  the  water  shoaled 
to  nine,  eight  and  seven  fathoms,  when  bn;akers  were  seen  from  the  deck  right 
ahead,  and,  from  tl»e  mast-head,  they  were  observed  to  extend  across  the  bay;  we 
therefore  hauled  out,  and  directed  our  course  to  the  opposite  shore,  to  see  if  there  was 
any  channel,  or  if  we  could  discover  any  point.    The  name  of  "  Cape  Disappoint- 


100 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


nieut "  was  given  to  the  promontory  (Cape  Hancock),  and  the  bay  obtained  the  ti'le 
of  "Deception  Bay."  »  ♦  *  We  can  now  with  uafety  aswert  that  there  is  no  Buch 
river  as  tliat  of  St.  Roc  exists,  as  laid  down  in  the  Spanish  charts.  To  those  of 
Maurelle  (Bodega's  pilot)  we  made  continual  reference,  but  without  deriving  any 
information  or  assistance  from  tliem.  We  now  reached  the  opposite  side  of  the  i)ay, 
where  disappointment  continued  to  accompany  us,  and,  beinif  almost  certain  that 
there  we  should  obtain  no  place  of  shelter  for  the  ship,  v  t:  bore  for  a  distant  head- 
land, keeping  our  course  within  two  miles  of  the  shore. 

The  distant  headland  he  named  "  Cape  Lookout,"  it  y)eing  the 
one  called  "  Cape  Falcon  "  by  the  Spaniards,  and  now  known  as 
"  Tillamook  Head." 

Meares  then  returned  to  Nootka,  having,  an  he  expressed  it, 
"traced  every  part  of  the  coast  which  unfavorable  weather  had  pre- 
vented Captain  Cook  fi'om  approaching."  The  Iphigenia  soon 
arrived  fi'om  the  north  with  a  large  cargo  of  furs.  The  little 
schooner  being  now  couipleted,  she  was  launched  and  christened  the 
Northivcst  America.  She  was  the  first  vessel  constnicted  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  north  of  Mexico.  About  this  time  appeared  two 
American  vessels,  the  Columbia  Rediviva^  commanded  b}'  Captain 
John  Kendrick,  and  the  Lady  Washington.,  by  Captain  Robert  Gray. 
The  new-born  republic  of  the  United  States,  as  soon  as  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  signed,  began  at  once  to  resume  those  maiitime  commer- 
cial ventures  w-hich  the  Avar  with  England  had  suspended.  Ameri- 
can vessels  visited  the  poits  of  every  country,  and  the  whale  fishing 
aroiind  Caj)e  Horn,  which  had  been  abruptly  tei*minated,  wa« 
resumed. 

In  1784  an  American  vessel  entered  the  harbor  of  Canton,  and 
in  1787  five  vessels  were  engaged  in  the  China  trade.  Untram- 
meled  with  the  commei'cial  restrictions  which  Parliament  had 
imposed  upon  British  subjects,  they  could  engage  in  the  fur  trade 
with  every  prospect  of  success.  It  was  for  this  purpose  the  Colum- 
bia Rediviva  and  Lady  Washington.,  two  names  now  so  intimately 
associated  with  this  region,  had  started  from  Boston  with  a  load 
of  Indian  goods,  and  had  come  to  anchor  in  Nootka  Sound.  Their 
voyage  thither  had  not  been  unattended  with  adventure.  In  Jan- 
uary, soon  after  passing  Cape  Horn,  a  severe  storm  separated  the 
two  consorts.  The  Washington  continued  the  voyage  and  reached 
the  Oregon  Coast  in  August,  where,  near  the  forty-sixth  parallel. 
Captain  Gray  ran  his  vessel  aground  in  attempting  to  enter  an 
opening  in  the  land,  which  he  had  explored  in  a  boat  and  believed 


SPAIN  8  SUPRKMACy    IN   THE  PACIFIC  OVKRTIIKOW  N. 


101 


to  be  the  entrance  to  the  gi-eat  River  of  the  West.  While  iu  thia 
position  the  ship  was  attacked  by  Indiau.s,  and  in  lepelling  them  and 
getting  the  craft  into  deep  water  again,  one  man  was  killed  and  the 
mate  wounded.  This  place  he  called  "  Murderer's  Har))or,"  and  is 
considered  l)y  (ireenhow  to  have  been  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
and  by  Bancroft  as  Tillamook  Bay.  Captain  Gray  then  pi'oceeded 
to  Nootka  Sound,  where  lay  the  three  vessels  belonging  to  Meares, 
his  appearance  being  a  great  surprise  to  the  Englishmen.  The 
Columbia  was  damagetl  l)y  the  storm  which  had  driven  the  two 
vessels  apart  near  Cape  Horn,  and  enterwl  the  Spanish  port  on  the 
Island  of  Juan  Fernandez  to  repair  damages.  The  comLi .  idant, 
I  Km  Bias  (xonzales,  treated  Captain  Kendrick  with  great  courtesy 
and  hospitalit}',  for  which  he  was  promptly  cashiered  '.  y  th<'  Cap- 
tain-General of  Chile,  and  this  action  wa^  aj»j)r(»ved  ))}  the  Viceroy 
of  Peru.  Fi'om  f';  •■  position  taken  by  Spain  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, she  h'ld  never  in  the  least  degi'ee  recede<l.  hhe  still  claimed 
(tomplete  dominion  of  the  west  coast  of  America,  and  the  sole  right 
of  trade  with  all  regions  approachable  by  the  way  of  Cape  Horn. 
In  1692,  nearly  a  century  before,  a  royal  ordinance  had  l)een  pro- 
mulgated, decreeing  that  foreign  vessels  of  every  nation,  irrespective 
of  the  relations  existing  between  those  nations  and  Spain,  should  be 
seized  wherever  found  iu  Pacitic  waters,  unless  they  possessed  a  trad- 
ing license  from  the  government  of  Spain.  The  commandant  at 
Juan  Fernandez  was  informed  that  he  .should  have  enfoi'ced  this 
ordhiance  and  seized  the  Columbia^  and  the  authorities  of  all  the 
Spanish  Pacific  ports  were  then  specially  instructed  to  carry  out  the 
decree  to  the  letter.  Not  only  was  this  done,  but  the  Viceroy  dis- 
|)atched  a  cruiser  from  Callao  to  overtake  and  capture  the  Columbia. 
In  this  it  was  unsuccessful,  and  Captain  Kendrick  reached  Nootka 
unmolested.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  two  xVmerican  vessels. 
Captain  Meares  loaded  all  his  fui"s  up<jn  the  Felice  and  sailed  for 
China;  the  Iphigenia  and  Nortlnuest  America  soon  after  departing 
for  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  spend  the  winter.  The  Colu7nbia  and 
Washington  remained  at  anch<^r  in  Nootka  Sound  until  spring. 
The  sight  of  these  English  and  American  vessels  venturing  into 
the  Pacific — and  those  spokci;  of  above  were  by  no  nieji.is  the  only 
ones,  since  several  exploring  expeditions  traversed  the  South  Pacific 
whose  work  had  no  particular  bearing  upon  the  history  of  this 


•102 


msTOKY   OK   VVII-t.AMKTTK  VALLKY. 


region — adinonislied  Spain  tluit  if  sIk'  would  maintain  her  supremacy 
she  must  be  up  and  doing.  While  she,  in  her  sluggish  nature,  had 
been  content  with  an  occasional  superficial  exploration,  productive 
of  little  information  of  value  to  her  or  the  rest  of  the  world,  these 
foivigners  were  Ixddly  infringing  her  prerogative  and  skimming 
the  rich  cream  of  the  fur  trade.  The  northern  limit  of  actual  Span- 
ish occupation  was  then  at  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  the 
authorities  determined  to  extend  it  still  further  without  delay. 
This  resulted  in  the  dispatching  of  tm  expedition  for  the  purpose 
of  selecting  suitable  locations  for  several  Spanish  colonies,  as  well 
as  to  ascertain  the  extent  and  character  of  the  Russian  settlements 
in  the  extreme  north  The  fleet  consisted  of  the  Pr/ncesa,  com- 
manded by  Estivan  Martinez,  former  pilot  of  Juan  Perez,  and  the 
San  Carlos,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Gonzalo  ITaro. 

On  the  eighth  of  March,  1788,  the  fleet  sailed  from  San  Bias  and 
cast  anchor  in  Prince  William's  Sound  on  the  tAventy-flfth  of  May. 
There  they  lay  inactive  for  nearly  a  month.  The  Spanish  idea  of 
exploration  was  very  peculiar.  While  the  English  officers  examined 
carefully  every  bay  and  inlet,  took  frecpient  observations  and  sound- 
ings, and  prepared  careful  charts  of  their  course  and  discoveries,  the 
representatives  of  Spain  seem  to  have  been  satisfied  with  an  occa- 
sional sight  of  the  coast,  and  their  map  making  consisted  of  the 
drawing  of  a  straight  line  on  a  piece  of  [)aper,  with  an  oc(^asional 
cape  or  bay  marked  upon  it.  Their  maps  of  this  region  were  cer- 
taiidy  very  peculiar.  In  June  the  San  Carlos  sailed  towards  the 
southwest,  and  encountering  a  Russian  trading  i)ost  upon  the  Island 
of  Kodiak,  Haro  interrogated  the  man  in  charge  as  to  the  number 
and  condition  of  the  Russian  settlements  in  America.  With  the 
information  thus  obtained  he  sailed  again  to  Prince  AVilliam's  Sound 
to  join  his  superior.  Meanwhile  Martinez  had  made  a  few  super- 
ficial explorations  of  the  Sound,  to  drive  away  the  ennui.  The  two 
vessels  then  proceeded  to  Ounalaska  and  their  oflficers  were  hospit- 
ably entertained  l)y  the  Russian  traders  for  an  extended  period. 
With  the  knowledge  thus  aci^uired  of  the  Russian  settlements,  Mar- 
tinez returned  \\\\\\  his  fleet  to  San  Bias.  He  reported  that  there 
were  eight  settlements  in  Alaska,  all  of  them  Avest  of  Prince  Wil- 
liam's Sound,  while  another  was  about  to  l)e  established  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Sound  itself.     These  were  chiefly  occupied  by  natives 


SPAIN  S  SUVHRMACY   IN  TlfK  PAcrFFO  OVERTIIKOWN. 


103 


of  Siberia  and  Kamtchatka,  all  subjects  of  the  llussian  Crown.  He 
also  reported  that  he  had  been  informed  of  two  Russian  vessels 
^vhich  had  been  sent  to  effect  a  settlement  at  Nootka,  and  of  two 
others  under  construction  at  Ochotsk  to  be  used  for  a  similar  pur- 
pose. 

The  information  thus  gained  by  Martinez  was  forwarded  to 
Madrid,  and  the  Spanish  Court  was  much  agitated  by  the  disclosure 
of  Russian  encroachment  upon  what  were  considered  the  dominions 
of  Sf)ain.  Her  settlements  were  already  sufficiently  extensive  to 
give  her  undisputed  title  to  Alaska,  and  she  was  now  threatening 
to  extend  her  colonies  far  to  the  southward.  The  infringement  of 
English  and  American  fur  traders  upon  the  commercial  rights  of 
Spain  was  nnnoying  enough,  l)ut  here  was  a  positive  and  imminent 
danger  of  being  supplanted  entirely.  The  government  determined 
to  take  a  fiim  stand,  to  meet  the  crisis  and  ward  off  the  impending 
l)low.  A  remonstrance  was  sent  to  the  Empress  of  Russia,  calling 
attention  to  the  encroachments  of  her  subjects  upon  the  dominions 
of  Spain  in  the  Pacific,  to  which  the  Empress  responded  that  her 
subjects  were  acting  in  accordance  with  her  express  instructions  not 
to  invade  the  territory  of  other  powers.  As  neither  communication 
stated  what  tlie  cori'esponding  powers  considered  the  limit  of  their 
claims  in  America,  the  diplomatic  interchange  settled  neither  the 
(piestion  nor  the  intent  of  tlie  two  sovereign  powers. 

Meanwhile  active  operations  were  undertaken  by  the  Mexican 
Vicei'oy.  Early  in  1789  Martinez  and  Haro  were  ordered  to  sail 
for  Nootka  in  the  Princesa  and  San  Carlos,  and  to  take  possession 
of  that  port  in  the  name  of  Spain.  Their  instructions  were  to  treat 
foreigners  (toui'teously,  but  at  ail  hazards  to  maintain  the  right  and 
authority  of  S])ain  in  this  region.  On  the  sixth  of  May  the  Prin- 
cesa reached  her  destination,  finding  tAVo  vessels  lying  there  at 
anchor,  the  Columbia  aii'l  Iphigenia.  Only  a  few  days  before,  the 
Iphigcnia,  Captain  Douglas,  and  the  little  Northwest  America,  Cap- 
tain Robert  Fiuiter,  had  arrived  from  their  winter's  sojourn  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  still  carrying  the  Portuguese  flag  at  their  mast- 
heads. They  reached  port  in  a  condition  of  exhaustion,  so  far  as 
supplies  were  concerned.  From  the  natives  and  the  American  ves- 
sels enough  supplies  and  articles  of  l:»arter  were  procured  to  enable 
the  little  schooner  to  leave  port  upon  a  cruise  along  the  coast  iu 


104 


HISTORY  OK   WILLAMETTK  VALLKt. 


search  of  furs,  jind  she  accordiiigl}'  t(jok  her  depaiiiure.  Captain 
Gray  also  started  out  upon  a  similar  errand  in  the  Lady  Washing- 
ton, meeting  the  Princcsa  just  without  the  harlwr.  Immediately 
upon  entering  the  port,  Martinez  -informed  Captains  Douglas  and 
Kendriek  that  he  had  come  to  take  possession  in  the  n/»nie  of  his 
sovereign,  examined  their  papers,  and  then  landed  and  began  the 
erection  of  fortiiications  on  Hog  Island,  a  commanding  jiosition  in 
the  bay,  calling  the  port  "  Santa  Cruz  de  Nootka."  No  ■)V)jections 
were  made  either  by  the  Americans  or  the  English  officers  of  the 
quad  Portuguese  vessel,  and  everything  appeared  satisfactory  and 
harmonious.  Apparently  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Spanish  com- 
mandant to  seize  the  Iphigenia^  as  subsecjuent  events  indicate,  but 
his  actit)n  was  delayed  for  prudential  reasons.  On  the  thirteenth, 
Haro  arrived  in  the  San  Carlos^  and  the  next  day,  deeming  his  force 
now  sufficiently  strong,  he  suunnoned  Douglas  and  Viana,  the  actual 
and  nominal  captains  of  the  Iphigenia,  on  board  the  Princcsa^  to 
have  their  papers  again  inspected.  This  time  the  documents  were 
not  as  satisfactory  as  he  had  previously  found  them.  He  took  ex- 
ceptions to  the  clause  in  their  instructions  i'e(puring  the  officers  to 
capture  any  Spanish  vessels  which  might  interfere  with  them,  and 
carry  their  crews  to  Macao,  to  be  tried  for  piracy.  He  considered 
a  vessel  sailing  under  such  instructions  a  lawful  prize  as  soon  as  she 
entered  a  Spanish  port.  In  \'ain  it  was  urged  that  the  instructions 
were  only  to  apply  to  such  vessels  as  might  unjustifiably  attack 
them,  and  were  i)ui'ely  defensive  in  their  nature;  tlie  Spanish  officer 
refused  to  view  the  matter  in  that  light,  and  put  them  under  arrest, 
sending  a  force  to  take  possession  of  the  brig  and  raise  the  Spanish 
flag.  Twelve  days  later,  having  had  plenty  of  time  to  reflect  and 
becoming  convinced  that  the  objectionable  clause  was  not  of  as 
hostile  a  nature  as  he  had  at  first  assumed  to  believe  it,  anil  fearing 
that  he  had  overstepped  the  bounds  of  prudence,  he  released  the 
brig  and  restoretl  his  prisoners  to  their  liberty.  He  also  furnished 
all  the  supplies  needed  for  a  voyage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  taking 
in  exchangt!  drafts  upon  Juan  Cavallo,  the  nominal  Portuguese 
owner  of  the  vessel.  He  also  secured  the  signatures  of  Douglas  and 
Viana  to  a  certificate  that  he  had  found  the  vessel  in  distress,  had 
furnished  her  with  necessary  supplies,  and  had  not  interfered  with 
her  voyage.     This  certificate  Douglas  afterwards  claimed  to  be  un- 


SPAIN  S  SUPREMACY   IN  THE  PACIFIC  OVERTHROWN. 


105 


true;  that  he  had  signed  it  under  duress,  at  the  urgent  solicitation 
of  his  men,  in  order  to  secure  the  release  of  his  vessel,  and  that  the 
brig  had  been  plundered  by  her  captors.  That  this  was  not  the 
case  was  attested  by  a  letter  signed  by  Captain  Gray  and  Joseph 
Ingi'aliam,  mate  of  the  Columbia^  and,  further,  by  the  fact  that, 
although  ostensibly  bound  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Douglas  turned 
northward  as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight,  and  engaged  in  a  season 
of  highly  prolitable  traflSc  along  the  coast. 

The  certificate  was  not  the  only  paper  Douglas  signed  to  procure 
his  release  and  supplies.  He  entered  into  a  written  agreement  to 
restore  the  Iphigenia  or  pay  her  value,  in  case  the  Viceroy  of 
Mexico  should  decide  the  capture  to  have  been  lawful.  Martinez 
desired  to  possess  the  little  schooner,  and  having  her  value  appraised 
by  the  Americans,  requested  Douglas  to  sell  her  at  that  price.  He 
was  told  that  no  one  there  had  the  authority  to  dispose  of  the 
vessel,  but  he  insisted.  Douglas  therefore  gave  him  a  letter  to 
Captain  Funter,  Vt^hich  Martinez  supposed  to  be  an  order  for  her 
delivery,  but  which  was  simply  a  note  informing  the  commander  of 
the  little  craft  of  the  Spanish  ofiicer's  wishes,  and  intimating  that 
he  might  follow  his  own  inclinations.  He  then  set  sail  at  once, 
fearful  his  duplicity  would  be  discovered,  and  made  the  voyage 
previously  alluded  to.  When  the  Northwest  America  ari'ived  on 
the  ninth  of  June,  Martinez  seized  her,  claiming  to  do  so  by  right 
of  his  agreement  with  Captain  Douglas. 

Meanwhile,  two  other  vessels  were  on  their  \vay  to  Nootka. 
Meares,  when  he  reached  China  the  fall  before,  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing a  pooling  arrangement  with  the  representative  of  the  King 
George's  Sound  Company;  and  as  that  company  possessed  trading 
licenses  from  both  the  East  India  Company  and  South  Sea  Com- 
pany, there  was  no  necessity  for  longer  maintaining  the  Portuguese 
subterfuge.  The  two  vessels  of  the  Cvjmpany  were  com])ined  with 
the  three  belonging  to  Meares.  The  Prince  of  Wales  had  been 
sent  to  England,  leaving  the  Princess  Royal  still  in  China.  This 
vessel  was  placed  under  the  ^  -:•.  -^aa^x  of  Captain  Thomas  Hudson, 
and  the  Felice  having  been  sold  and  the  Argonaut  purchased,  Cap- 
tain Colnett  assumed  command  of  the  latter.  The  last  named 
gentleman  was  given  charge  of  the  expedition,  since  Meares  remained 
in  China,  and  was  instructed  to  establish  a  permanent  station  on 


100 


IIISTOHY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


the  American  Coast,  to  l»e  called  "Fort  Pitt."  A  small  vessel,  to 
be  launched  upon  arrival  and  used  f(n'  the  coasting  trade,  formed 
part  of  the  cargo,  and  seventy  Chinamen  were  taken  along  to  be 
employed  at  the  new  settlement.  According  to  Spanish  authority, 
the  Chinese  passengers  claimed  they  had  eml)arked  for  Bengal,  and 
not  America.  AVhat  became  of  them  after  the  subsequent  troubles 
there  is  no  evidence  to  indicate. 

The  two  vessels  sailed  from  China,  one  in  April  and  the  other 
in  May — the  Princess  Royal  being  the  first.  She  cast  anchor  in 
Nootka  Sound  just  live  days  after  the  seizure  of  the  Northxvest 
America.  As  she  l)rought  intelligence  of  the  ])ankruptcy  of 
Cavallo,  the  reputed  owner  of  the  little  schooner,  Martinez  decided 
to  retain  personal  i)ossession  oi  the  craft  to  indenmify  himself  for  the 
unpaid  bills  drawn  upon  the  insolvent  Portuguese  by  Captain 
Douglas.  He  accordingly  changed  her  name  to  Gertrtidis^  and 
placing  her  in  charge  of  David  Coolidge,  mate  of  the  Lady  Wash- 
ington.! '^t!Jit  hei'  out  on  a  trading  cruise  on  the  joint  account  of  him- 
self and  the  i^mericans,  Avitli  whom  he  had  bt  m  on  the  most  fiiendly 
terms.  The  furs  Avhicli  had  been  collected  were  turned  over  to 
Captain  Hudson,  with  whom  he  did  not  interfere.  By  this  time  the 
Americans  had  decided  to  send  one  of  their  vessels  to  China  with 
the  furs  which  had  been  collected,  and  from  there  to  Boston  to  report 
the  condition  of  affairs.  Accordingly,  Captains  Gray  and  Kendrick 
exchanged  vessels,  the  former  sailing  for  China  in  the  Columbia. 
Martinez  availed  himself  of  this  opportunity,  and  placed  the  crew 
of  the  ca})tured  scho(nier  on  board  and  sent  them  to  China. 

On  the  second  of  July  the  Princess  Royal  sailed  on  a  trading 
voyage;  the  next  day  passing  the  Aj'gonauf  just  outside  the  harbor 
without  commimicating  with  her.  Captain  Colnett  was  informed 
of  what  had  happened  by  parties  who  liad  gone  out  to  meet  him 
in  a  l)oat,  and  decided  to  anchor  outside.  Martinez  came  out  and  in 
the  most  friendly  niiinner  invited  him  to  enter  the  harbor,  assuring 
him  of  pei'fect  security,  and  as  Colnett  afterward  stated  in  a  narra- 
tive of  his  voyages,  urgently  solicited  him  to  do  so  for  the  piu'pose 
of  supplying  provisions  and  other  necessaries  to  tlie  Spaniards,  who 
were  in  great  disti-ess.  Won  by  the  cordial  appearance  of  the  invi- 
tation, Colnett  assented,  and  the  Argonaul  was  towed  into  port  by 
Spaniards.     There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  was  not  the  inten- 


SPAIN  K  sri'RKMAOY   FN  THE  PACIFIC  OVKimiHOWN. 


107 


tion  of  Martinez  to  treat  the  Argonaut  with  tlie  same  courtesy  he 
had  shown  to  the  Princess  Royal,  ^vlieii  he  inxited  Colnett  to  enter 
port,  l)ut  his  conduct  underwent  a  rapid  transformation  when  he 
learned  from  that  officer  that  he  was  instructed  to  found  a  fortiiied 
English  colony.  He  at  once  informed  the  English  Captain  that  he 
had  already  taken  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the 
King  of  Spain,  and  could  not  permit  any  such  proceeding.  The 
next  day  Colnett  went  on  lioard  the  Princesa  and  requested  permis- 
sion to  sail  immediately,  which  was  refused,  since  the  Spanish 
commandant  feared  it  was  the  Englishman's  purpose  to  seek  some 
other  port  in  which  to  establish  liimself,  and  his  duty  to  his  govern- 
ment required  that  he  prevent  such  a  consummation  at  all  hazards. 
He  asked  Colnett  to  exhibit  his  papers,  and  the  Englishman 
returned  to  his  vessel,  arrayed  himself  in  full  uniform,  sword 
included,  and  then  again  presented  himself  in  the  cal)in  of  the 
Princesa,  with  the  papers  in  his  hand.  The  papers  were  examined, 
and  Colnett  was  informed  that  he  ^\■o^dd  not  be  permitted  to  sail 
just  yet,  whereat  he  fell  into  a  passion  and  a  (puirrel  ensued,  re- 
sulting in  the  arrest  of  the  captain  and  the  seizure  of  his  vessel. 

Ten  days  later  the  Princess  Royal  x^iwvwi^A^  her  commander  being 
ignorant  of  what  had  happened  during  his  brief  absence,  and  was 
at  once  seized  by  the  Spaniards.  A  portion  of  the  furs  captured 
were  given  to  Captain  Gray  to  pay  the  passage  to  China  of  the 
cre"\v  of  the  Northwest  America.  The  officers  and  men  of  the 
Argonaut  an<l  Princess  Royal  were  placed  on  l)oard  the  former 
and  sent  to  San  Bias.  In  September,  Martinez  and  Haro,  in 
obedience  to  instructions  from  Mexico,  dismantled  the  fortifications 
and  departed  from  No(jtka;  and  as  ♦^he  Lady  Washington  was  away 
upon  a  coasting  \  -^^'age,  that  l)one  of  contention  was  left  without  a 
claimant. 

So  prostrated  was  Captain  Colnett  with  the  severity  and  sud- 
denness of  his  misfortunes  that  he  became  temporarily  insane,  recov- 
ering, however,  l)efore  he  reached  San  Bias.  The  commandant  at 
that  port  was  the  well  known  explorer  Bodega  y  Quadra,  and  he 
received  the  two  captains  with  the  greatest  of  courtesy,  sending 
them  to  Mexico  to  lay  their  case  before  the  Viceroy,  Revilla-Gigedo. 
After  considerable  delay  it  was  officially  decided  that  Martinez, 
though    only    following   his   special    instructions   and   the   royal 


108 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


decrees,  had  ovei-stepped  the  bounds  of  prudence.  The  prisoners 
were  accordingly  released,  and  were  paid  the  regular  wages  of  the 
Spanish  navy  for  the  whole  time  of  their  captivity.  The  Argonaut, 
which,  with  the  other  two  prizes,  had  been  maintained  in  active 
service,  was  restoreil  to  Colnett,  rather  the  woi"se  for  wear.  He 
sailed  in  her  for  Xootka  in  the  spring  of  1790,  and  not  finding  his 
other  vessel  there,  set  out  in  search  of  her,  not  obtaining  possession 
till  a  year  later  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  During  all  these  occiu-- 
rences  the  Americans  wei-e  on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  the 
Spaniards,  so  much  st>  that  they  were  accused  of  co-operating  with 
them  against  the  English.  The  facts  are  that  they  Avere  inactive, 
though  not  entirely  disinterei-ted  spectators,  since  it  naturally 
pleased  them  to  set^  theii"  rivals  so  summarily  disposed  of:  and  it  is 
not  impossible  that  they  (^cca*iionally  dropped  a  hint  into  the  com- 
mandant's ear.  Captain  Keudrick  I'emained  on  the  coast  till  fall, 
collectin":  a  larsje  cargo  of  furs,  and  then  sailed  for  Boston  by  the 
way  of  China.  It  is  claimed  by  some  historians  that  before  leaving 
he  sailed  clear  aroiuid  Vancouver  Island,  and  Meares'  chart  Wars 
an  indication  of  the  route  pursued.  This  chart  is  of  itself  evidence 
that  the  maker  of  it  was  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  inland  chau- 
nel,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  Meares  misunderstood  Kendrick's 
account  of  the  movements  of  the  Lady  IVas/ujigton  while  under 
the  command  of  Captain  (irray,  and  confusing  them  \nth  Kendricks 
assertion  that  there  was  a  channel  back  of  Nootka,  a  j)iece  of  infor- 
mation gleaned  fi'om  the  Indians,  supposed  that  sucli  a  voyage  had 
been  made.  Although  it  is  possible  that  he  did  circumnavigate  the 
island,  yet  it  seems  improbable,  and  Kendrick  never  laid  claim  to 
such  distinction  in  after  years.  If  he  did,  then  an  American  vessel 
was  the  fiivt  to  enter  the  Straits  of  Fuca  and  explore  that  wonder- 
ful inland  sea,  the  Gulf  of  Georgia;  if  not,  then  the  honor  lielongs 
to  Spain,  as  will  be  shown  later  on. 

So  much  for  the  events  at  Nootka ;  but  there  was  a  gi-eater  field 
of  action  on  which  the.se  differences  were  decided — Europe.  The 
Viceroy  of  New  Spain  made  haste  to  notif}^  the  home  government 
of  the  important  event.*  which  had  happened  in  the  far-off  Pacific. 
It  took  a  long  time  for  news  to  travel  in  those  days,  when  there 
were  no  telegraphs  and  no  regular  routes  of  intelligence  between 
these  distant  shores  and  Europe;  consequently  Spain,  which  was 


Spain's  supremacy  tn  the  pacific  overthrown. 


109 


in  the  most  intimate  connection  with  the  Pacific  Coast,  received  the 
news  long  before  it  readied  England.  The  first  intelligence  received 
by  the  British  Cabinet  ^\•HS  an  arrogant  and  very  undi])lomatic  note 
from  Spain,  on  the  tenth  of  Fel)ruary,  1790,  notifpng  the  King 
that  certain  of  his  subjects  had  been  trespassing  npftn  the  Pacific 
possessions  of  Spain,  and  that  in  eonse(|uence  of  this  the  ship  Ar- 
gonaut had  been  seized  as  a  ]>rize  and  her  crew  made  prisoners. 
The  note  closed  with  an  assertion  of  that  exclusive  i-ight  of  Pacific 
trafllc  which  Spain  had  proclaimed  for  a  century,  and  the  enforce- 
ment of  which  had  led  to  the  present  complications;  in  pursuance 
of  that  idea  the  punishment  of  the  offenders  was  demanded,  and  an 
earnest  protest  made  against  the  King  j)ermitting  any  of  his  subjects 
to  make  settlements,  or  engage  in  fishing,  or  trade  with  the  natives 
on  the  American  Coast  of  the  Pacific.  To  such  haughty  language 
the  Kum  oi  Ensjland  was  entiivly  uuaccustometl.  Great  Britain 
never  had  even  constructively  admitted  any  of  the  exclusive  privi- 
leges claimed  V)v  Spain,  and  she  was  not  now  likely  to  tamely  sub- 
mit to  them  when  they  were  so  aiTogantl}'  promidgated  in  justifica- 
tion of  an  outrage  cttmmitted  upon  her  subjects.  The  response  was 
prompt  and  characteristic  of  tliat  nation,  whose  vigilant  guardian- 
ship of  her  citizens  extends  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the  earth. 
The  (/ourt  of  Madrid  was  notified  that  since  it  was  evident  fi'om 
the  Spanish  protest  that  English  subjects  had  been  imprisoned  and 
their  property  confiscated,  full  reparation  must  be  made  and  satis- 
faction for  the  insult  given,  before  the  merits  of  the  controversy 
would  be  consideretl  at  all.  Spain,  England  and  France  were  just 
begiiming  to  recuperate  fi'om  the  effect  of  the  struggles  in  which 
they  had  been  engaged,  and  each  of  them  was  anxious  to  avoid 
further  hostilities;  yet  the  dignity  of  England  required  her  to  take 
a  bold  stand  in  defense  of  her  subjects.  The  belligerent  tone  of 
her  response  set  Spain  at  once  to  preparing  for  war,  to  avoid  which 
she  modified  her  demands  considerably,  notifying  His  Majesty  that 
the  restoration  had  ab'eady  been  made  and  the  matter  would  be 
allowed  to  drop,  if  he  would  promise  in  future  to  keep  his  subiects 
away  from  the  Spanish  possessions. 

This  was  the  status  of  affairs  in  April,  when  Meares  arrived  from 
('hina.  When  the  Columbia  reached  Canton,  in  the  fall  of  1789, 
with  intelligence  of  the  Nootka  proceedings,  Meares  armed  himself 


no 


inSTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


with  documents  ami  depositions  and  embarked  for  London,  to  lay 
liis  grievances  before  the  King.  On  the  thirtieth  of  May  he  addresse*! 
a  memorial  to  his  sovereign,  detailing  the  affair  from  his  standpoint, 
and  though  it  was  full  of  misrepresentations,  as  has  since  been  con- 
clusively shown,  it  was  adopted  sis  the  correct  version  by  the  gov- 
ernment. From  this  rep-rt  it  seemed  that  three  vessels  had  lieen 
seized,  instead  of  one,  and  that  Englishmen  had  taken  possession  of 
Nootka  lu'fore  the  S[>aniards,  since  Meares  declared  that  the  A'lcr/^- 
zocst  America  wa-^  an  Knglish  vessel,  and  that  when  he  built  her 
he  had  established  a  permanent  settlement  on  land  purchased  from 
the  Nootka  Chief,  Macpiinna.  He  did  not  inform  the  King  that  the 
little  schooner  had  never  flauntetl  any  flag  but  that  of  Poi-tugal,  and 
that  when  the  vessel  was  finished  the  building  in  which  the  work- 
men had  lived  was  turnetl  ovei'  to  IMaijuinna  in  payment  for  the 
privilege  of  temp«»rarv  «)ccupation  of  the  land,  as  had  ]>een  agreed 
upon  in  tlie  beginning.  England,  on  the  fifth  of  May,  sent  a  reply 
to  the  second  note  fi-om  Spain,  asserting  that  she  was  not  preparetl 
to  admit  the  exclusive  pri\'ileges  claimed  by  Spain,  but  that  she  was 
prepared  to  protect  her  subjects,  and  ^vould  not  consider  the  ^lues- 
tion  at  all  until  proj^er  satisfaction  had  been  given.  On  the  six- 
teenth of  ^lay,  England  made  a  formal  demand  upon  Spain  for 
restitution  of  the  captured  vessels,  indenmity  for  losses  sustained 
(estimated  l>y  Meares  at  :^(;58,433),  and  fidl  rfcknowleilgement  of 
the  right  of  English  subjects  to  tratle  in  the  Pacific,  and  to  establish 
settlements  at  any  i>oints  not  already  occupied  by  Spain.  On  the 
twenty-fifth  the  whole  correspondence  was  laid  by  the  King  ]>efore 
Parliament,  which  had  Vtefore  been  ignorant  of  it,  and  he  was  wamdy 
applauded  for  his  conduct  and  assured  of  support. 

Spain's  position  was  an  exceedingly  humiliating  one.  Even  in 
her  decline  she  had  maintained  the  haughty  spirit  and  arrogant 
assumption  of  suj^eriority  and  exclusive  rights  which  had  fii-st  }>een 
asserted  by  those  j>otent  mouarehs,  Charles  and  Philip,  Init  which 
now,  vvith  her  fast  waning  ]X)wer,  she  was  not  able  to  supix»rt  by 
force  of  arms.  England's  vigorous  preparations  for  war  seriously 
alarmed  her.  She  had  too  many  improtected  colonies,  dejjendencies 
from  Avhich  she  derive<l  great  revenues,  to  risk  a  war  w  ith  a  jwwer- 
ful  maritime  nation,  whose  operations,  of  coiu'se,  would  be  chiefly 
dii'ected  against  those  \-ulneralde  points.     In  the  long  negotiations 


fjPAIN  S  SUPKEMAOY  IN  THE  PACIFIC  OVKltTlIROWN. 


Ill 


wliii-li  followed  she  again  modified  her  position,  stating  that  she  had 
no  desire  to  claim  any  territt>iy  not  jnstly  hers,  that  the  vessels  had 
already  been  restored,  and  that  she  was  willing  to  jiay  any  damages 
whieh  miffht  l»e  assessed  atjainst  her  ]>\  arbitrators  to  whom  the 
esise  should  be  sulnuitted.  England  was  proud  and  overl)earing, 
and  putting  aside  ecjuity,  acted  thn  night >ut  as  her  interests  seemed 
to  indicate,  conscious  of  her  superior  j)ower.  Slie  a9send»led  the 
greatest  armament  tlie  nati«jn  had  ever  prepared,  and  was  ready  at 
a  (hiy's  notice  to  make  a  descent  up<»n  the  Spanisli  settlements  in 
Am«M"ica.  She  even  formed  an  alliance  with  Sweden  and  the 
Netherlands,  in  anticipation  of  the  co-operation  of  Fi'ance  and  Spain 
against  lier.  It  was  a  well-known  fact  that  there  existed  a  compact 
of  mutual  defense  between  the  nionarchs  of  France  and  Spain,  both 
meml»ers  of  the  Hourl)on  family,  an<l  it  was  natural  for  England  to 
expect  it  to  be  fulfilled.  Ihe  King  of  Spain  foi'mally  called  upon 
Louis  XVI.,  of  France,  for  the  promised  aid,  and  was  assured 
that  it  would  be  given;  but  when  the  matter  came  before  the  Na- 
tional Assembly  that  body  refusetl  to  sanction  any  increfise  of  the 
military  forces,  and  the  King  was  powerless,  for  the  sj)irit  of  that 
bloody  revolution  which  ])roke  out  three  years  later  had  already 
banislied  altsoluteism  from  the  kingdom.  The  Assembly  examined 
the  treaty  between  England  and  Spain,  investigated  the  (piestion  of 
Pacific  discoveries,  especially  the  alleged  voyage  of  Juan  de  Fuca, 
of  which  no  evidence  could  be  found,  and  finally  decided  that  the 
nation  would  stand  on  the  defensive  with  Spain,  but  could  not  be 
relied  upon  for  offensive  operations.  The  national  armament  was 
thei'ef  >re  largely  increased.  It  was  noAV  England's  turn  to  come 
dowi,  from  her  high  liorse.  She  saw  that  France  would  be  drawn 
into  the  war,  and  finding  her  new  allies  unreliable  and  that  she 
could  not  well  afford  the  enormous  expense  of  a  war,  the  prepara- 
tit»us  for  which  had  already  depleted  her  treasury,  she  adopted  a 
more  conciliatory  tone,  and  her  plenipotentiary  sulmiitted  a  propo- 
sition .v'hich  ^vas  accepted  l)y  the  representative  of  Spain.  This 
was  signed  on  the  twenty-eiglith  of  Octol>er,  1790,  and  is  known  as 
the  "  Nootka  Convention." 

By  this  treaty  it  was  stii)ulated  tliat  all  buildings  and  tracts  of 
land  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America  of  which  Spanish  officers 
hail  dispossessed  any  British  subjects,  should  Ije  restored;  that  just 


112 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLZT. 


reparation  should  be  made  by  both  parties  to  the  agreement  for  any 
acts  of  violence  committed  by  the  subjects  of  either  of  them  upon 
the  subjects  of  the  other;  that  any  property  seizetl  should  Ije  re- 
stored or  compensated  ft>r;  that  subjects  of  Great  Britain  should 
not  approach  \\'ithin  ten  leagues  of  any  part  of  the  c«»a.><t  already 
occupied  by  Sj)ain;  that  north  of  that  point  Ijoth  jiarties  should 
have  equal  rights,  as  well  as  south  of  the  limits  of  Sjjanish  settle- 
ments in  South  America.  The  treat\'  met  with  violent  opposition 
both  in  S])ain  and  England,  but  was  tinally  ratified  and  went  into 
eifect.  The  Spaniards  looked  upon  it  as  a  voluntary  surrender  of 
their  hereditary  rights  acquired  by  the  explorations  and  conquests 
of  their  ancestors;  that  formerly  Spain  possesseil  exclusive  rights 
in  the  Pacific,  whicli  were  now  beinjj  surrenderetl  to  Enorland  with- 
t)ut  an)^  comjiensation  \vhatever.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opposition 
in  Enghmd  claimed  that,  wliereas,  formerly  British  subjects  enjoyed 
the  right  of  tratle  in  every  quarter  of  the  gh^be,  the  Government 
had  agreed  by  this  treaty  to  surrender  these  rights  in  c-ertain  re- 
gions to  Spain,  and  that  England  had  agreed  to  restrict  her  settle- 
ments within  certain  limits  where  she  had  before  asserted  her  priv- 
ilege of  settling  colonies  at  any  place  not  previoiL<ly  occupied.  It 
seemed  to  both  parties  that  valuable  and  inuuemorial  rights  had 
been  surrendered  without  any  compensation.  Captain  George  Van- 
couver was  appointed  commissioner  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  to 
proceed  to  Nootka  and  execute  that  portion  of  the  treatA"  which 
refen-ed  to  the  restoration  of  propei-t}%  and  the  celebrated  Bod^a 
y  Quadi'a  was  intrusted  with  the  same  duty  on  the  part  of  Spain. 


CHAPTER   VTII. 

PUGET  SOUND  AND  COLUMBIA  RIVER  DIHCOVERKD. 

E;eploiations  of  Lientenant  Qtiimpm'  hi  the  Straitn  of  Fnca — lie  takes 
Fm^mal  Possession  for  Spain — Elisa  E,eplores  the  Straits  of  Fuca 
and  Gulf  of  Georgia — Malaspina  and  Bustamantu  Search  for  the 
Straits  of  Anian — Kendrick  Again  Visits  the  Coast  and  Buys  Land 
from  the  Indians — Gray  Arrives  in  the  Coluinhia  ami  Winters  at 
Clayoquot — Events  of  1792 — Sjxmi  makes  a  Last  Effort  to  Explore 
the  Disputed  Region — Arrival  of  Vancouver's  Expedition — He  Ex- 
amines the  Oregon  Coast — Searches  in  Vain  for  the  Rio  de  San 
Roque — lie  Records  his  Unqualified  Disbelief  in  such  a  River — • 
Gray  Builds  the  '■^Adventure "  at  Clayoquot — lie  Discovers  the  Co- 
lumbia River —  Vancouver  Explores  Puget  Sound  and  Falls  in  with 
the  Spaniards — He  Examines  the  Coast  Carefully — Mr.ets  Quadra  at 
JVootka- — E^inds  Him  Prepared  with  Proofs  to  Sustain  the  Cause  of 
SjKiin — They  Fail  to  Agree  or  Terms — They  Bestow  their  Names 
upon  the  Island  of  Vancouver  and  Quadra — Broughton  Explores 
the  Columhia —  Vancou/ver  Finishes  His  Explorations  and  Returns 
to  England — The  Nootka  Question  Settled  and  the  Port  Abandoned. 


WHILE  England  and  Spain  were  engaged  in  their  ))elligerent 
controversy,  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  was  bnsily  enijdoyed  in 
exploring  the  region  under  dispute.  His  oljject  wjis  two-fold — to 
learn  if  it  was  worth  an  effort  to  liold  it,  and  if  so,  and  Nootka  had 
to  be  abandoned  to  the  English,  to  find  a  desirable  point  south  of 
that  port  for  the  foiuidation  of  a  settlement.  This  he  was  doing  with- 
out being  aware  of  the  status  of  aftairs  in  Europe.  To  this  end  he 
dispatched  a  fleet  in  the  spring  of  1790,  with  instructions  to  again 
take  possession  of  Nootka  Sound,  fortify  and  defend  it — artillery 
and  a  c<impany  of  soldiei-s  were  taken  along  for  that  purpose — and 
use  it  tus  a  base  of  explorations.     The  fleet  \\  as  under  the  connnand 


f; 


lU 


HLSTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTK  VALLKY. 


of  Tileuton.int  FianciHco  Elisn,  and  eonsiHted  of  tlu*  Conccpcion,  San 
Carlos  (Fi/ipiiio)  and  the  Princi'sa  Real.  A  seru's  of  voyages  was 
at  once  undertaken,  s(»me  of  them  directed  northward  to  gain  infor- 
mation of  the  movements  of  tlie  Russians.  The  most  important  was 
tliat  of  Lieutenant  Alfere/  Manuel  QuiniiUM',  in  tlie  Princcsa  Real 
(Princess  Royal),  wliich  liad  not  yet  been  restored  t«»  C'aptain  Col- 
nett.  In  the  summer  of  IT'.tO  he  h'ft  N(»otka  and  entered  the 
Straits  of  Fiiea,  earefully  examining  both  shores  of  the  passage  for 
tlie  distance  of  one  hundred  miles.  This  was  probably  the  fiivt 
vessel  to  actually  enter  and  explore  the  Straits  of  Fuca.  He  wsis 
also  the  discoverer  of  Puget  Sound,  into  which  he  penetrated  a 
short  distance,  and  mistook  it  ioY  an  iidet,  calling  it  "  Encefiada  de 
Caamano.'"  He  was  prevented  from  extending  his  explorations 
further  in  that  direction  by  lack  (»f  time.  He  Itestowed  names  upon 
many  objects  in  that  region,  all  (»f  which  now  bear  the  titles  after- 
ward gixen  them  by  Vancouver  and  othei's,  exce[(t  the  nuiiu  chan- 
nel leading  north,  which  he  christened  "Canal  de  Lope/  de  Haro." 
On  the  first  of  .Vugust  he  took  formal  |)ossession  of  that  region  in 
the  name  of  his  sovereign,  at  Port  Nunez  (raona,  now  known  as 
Neah  Hay.  He  was  prevented  by  liead  winds  fi'om  returning  to 
Xootka,  and  falling  in  with  the  San  Carlos,  whii-h  had  been  on  a 
voyage  to  Alaska,  the  two  vessels  sailed  for  Monterey  and  San  Bias. 
There  was  no  othei-  vessel  in  those  w^aters  in  171)0,  so  far  as  is 
known,  exce})t  the  Ar^vnaul,  in  which  Captain  Colnett  was  search- 
ing for  tlie  Princess  Royal,  as  befoi-e  stated. 

In  May,  1791,  Elisa  himself  embarked  in  the  San  Carlos,  which 
had  returned  to  Nootka,  and  started  out  to  make  a  complete  recon- 
uoisance  of  the  coast  from  Mount  St.  Elias  to  Trinidad,  accompa- 
ni<Hl  ))y  the  Santa  Saliirnhia  (or  Horcasitas)^  under  Jose  Maria 
Narvaez.  They  entered  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  ascertained  that  Caa- 
mano  Ldet  was  an  inland  j)assage,  which  they  did  not  enter,  and 
exj)lored  the  Gulf  of  (jeorgia  jis  far  noi'th  {is  latitude  50°,  calling  it 
"Gran  Canal  de  Nuestra  Sefiora  del  Rosario  la  Marinera."  They 
bestowed  many  names,  some  of  which  are  still  retained  as  originally 
applied,  such  as  "San  Juan  Archipelago,"  "  Guemes,"  "Tejada" 
("Texada")  "  Islands,"  and  "Port  Los  Angeles."  Other  names 
which  appear  in  his  chart  are  still  in  use,  but  have  in  some  man- 
ner been   shifted   to  other  objects  than  those  to  which  they  were 


I'UOET  SOUND  AND  CULUMUIA    KIVEK  DISt  «tV  KKKD. 


15 


originally  given,  such  as  "Gaamann,"  ••  Fi<lalg(t,""  "  Hosario," 
"Cordoba,"  etc.  Many  jjassages  leading  lnlan<l  wei-e  observed  hut 
not  explored  for  lack  of  time;  and  this  letl  him  in  his  report  to 
the  Vicer(.)y  to  nay:  "It  appears  that  th«*  oceanic  passage  so  zeal- 
ously fiiought  for  by  foreignei"s,  if  there  is  one,  can  nt»t  be  elsewhere 
than  l)y  this  great  channel." 

The  revival  of  interest  in  the  almost  forgotten  romance  of  Mai- 
(Umado,  cause<l  by  the  controvei*sy  bet\ve«*n  England  and  Spain,  led 
the  latter  to  make  another  effoit  to  Hnd  thos«-  fabulous  straits  foi- 
which  so  many  had  searched  in  vain.  The  ctirvt'ttes  Discubicrta 
and  Atrevida,  under  the  command  of  Alejandro  Malas[)ina  and 
Jose  de  Bnstamante  y  (xuerra,  had  saile«l  ujkiu  a  voyage  of  circum- 
navigation, and  upon  tlieir  amval  at  Acapulco  in  the  spring  of 
171H,  were  met  by  orders  directing  them  to  search  for  Maldonado's 
Straits  of  Anian.  They  sailed,  and  tiist  sighted  land  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  June,  near  Mount  Edijecundt.  The  coast  line  in  the  vicinitv 
o^  <^lii  :tieth  parallel  was  carefidly  examine<l,  and  being  satisfied 
that  tl.  passag<'  he  sought  did  not  exist,  Malaspina  sailed  south- 
ward and  anchored  in  Nootka  Soun»l  on  the  thirtieth  of  August, 
about  the  time  Elisa  returned  iwnw.  the  Gulf  of  (leorgia.  He  soon 
sailed  southward  to  California. 

During  1791,  while  the  Spaniards  were  making  these  exi>lora- 
tions,  the  most  complete  and  satisfactory  ever  acc(»niplished  by  them, 
one  French,  nine  English  and  seven  American  vessels  weiv  also  in 
Pacific  waters.  As  their  objects  were  j>urely  conunercial,  little  of 
iniportaice  was  accomidished  by  any  of  them  in  the  line  of  new 
discoveries,  though  each  added  something  tt»  the  increasing  knowl- 
edge of  the  coast.  N<^  troul)le  occuiTed  ]>etw»'en  them  and  the 
Spanish  forces  at  Nootka.  The  Viceroy  Itevilla-liigedo  stated 
{/n/orme,  iji):  "Althou'di  various  craft  of  England  and  the 
American  Colonies  frecpiented  the  adjacent  cojists  and  ))orts,  some 
of  them  entering  Nootka,  nothing  occurre<l  t<»  cause  unpleasantness 
or  damage;  and  our  new  establishment  wa>  always  respected  by 
them,  and  provided  with  all  that  was  neetle«l  by  the  other  San  Bias 
vessels,  which  brought  at  the  same  time  the  supplies  for  the  ])resid- 
ios  and  missions  of  Alta  California.'"  Am«>ng  these  trading  vessels 
was  the  Lady  Washington^  which  had  Ik^.u  transformed  i'  ...  ..  brig 
in  China,  in  doing  which  Captain  Kendrick,  who  was  an  v-asy-going. 


116 


HISTORY  OK  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


pi'ocrastiiijiting  indivulual,  had  lost  a  sejisoii's  trade.  This  year  he 
"Ns-as  fairly  ssiiceessful  in  ol)taining  furs,  and  also  in  securing  the  piir- 
eliase  of  a  large  tract  of  land  from  Chiefs  Matjuinna  and  Wicana- 
nish,  for  which  he  received  written  deeds,  duly  signed  by  the  grant- 
ors with  a  cross.  Copies  of  these  deeds,  which  included  practically 
the  whole  of  Vancouver  Island  exce})t  that  already  claimed  by  the 
Sj)aniards,  were  forwarded  to  Thonuis  Jefferson,  Secr^^Liry  of  State, 
and  filed  in  the  [»ul>lic  ai-cliives.  The  other  American  vessel  of  note 
was  tlie  Cohnnbia  Rediviva^  which  was  again  sent  to  the  Pacific  in 
the  fall  of  1  TOO.  arriving  at  the  harbor  of  Clayo([Uot,  on  Vancouver 
Island,  just  nortli  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  in  June,  1791.  She  was 
still  under  tlie  connnand  of  Captain  Robert  Gray,  her  first  officer 
being  Ilohei't  Haswell,  \\  iiose  diary  of  the  voyage,  sis  well  as  of  the 
])revious  one,  at  Avhich  time  he  was  second  niace  of  the  Lady  Wash- 
ington^ is  one  of  tlie  best  and  most  reliable  sources  of  information 
in  regard  to  the  events  of  those  voyages  and  the  complications  at 
Nootka.  Gray  soon  sailed  for  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  and 
engaged  in  trade  with  the  natives  for  several  months,  exjdoring 
many  inlets  and  channels.  In  latitude  54°  38',  he  entered  a  [)assage 
and  sailed  northeastward  a  distance  of  t)ne  hundred  miles  without 
finding  an  end.  lie  then  retiu'ued  to  the  sea,  supposing  he  had 
discovered  the  Ilio  de  los  Reyes  of  Admiral  Fonte.  He  named  one 
portion  of  it  "Massacre  Cove,"  because  of  the  uuu'der  of  second 
mate  Caswell  and  two  seamen  by  the  natives.  This  su])posed  pas- 
sage was  Portland  Inlet,  through  which  runs  the  boundary  sej)arat- 
ing  British  Cohunhia  tVom  Alaska.  Not  having  collected  a  sufii- 
cient  (pnuitity  of  furs,  owing  to  the  number  of  vessels  trading  on 
the  coast,  dray  decided  to  sj)end  the  whiter  at  Clayo(|Uot.  lie 
accordingly  anchored  the  Columbia  in  that  harbor,  built  a  house, 
mounted  cannon  upon  it,  and  then  began  the  construction  of  a  small 
schoonei",  the  frame  of  which  he  had  brought,  from  Boston.  This 
place  he  called  "  Fort  Defiance."  Kendrick  had,  a  few  weeks  l)e- 
fore,  been  engaged  in  repairing  the  Lady  Washington^  at  a  point 
in  the  same  harboi*  which  he  had  christened  "  Fort  Washington," 
but  had  departed  for  China  soon  aftei-  Gray^s  ariival. 

The  year  1792  was  an  imjiortant  (me  in  the  history  of  the  North- 
Avest  Coast.  More  discoveries  were  made  and  more  important 
explorations  carried  on  than  in  any  year  before  or  since.     Spain, 


ITOKT  MOrr^D  AND  COLUMBIA   KIVKR  OrscJOVERKD. 


117 


England  and  the  United  States  by  sea,  and  a  representative  of  the 
great  Northwest  Company  l)y  land,  threw  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
dark  geography  of  the  Coast.  At  least  twenty -eight  vessels  visited 
this  region,  the  majority  of  them  to  engage  in  the  fur  trade,  repre- 
senting France,  Spain,  Portugal,  England  and  the  United  States. 
I*assing  by  the  majority  of  these  without  further  mention,  let  us 
turn  our  attention  to  those  ^vhich  made  valuable  discoveries.  These 
were  the  Columbia^  under  ('aptain  Gi'ay,  tA\'o  vessels  under  Captain 
Vancouver,  and  a  small  Spanish  fleet. 

Early  in  the  si)ritig  of  1792,  the  Mexican  Viceroy,  not  satisfied 
with  the  great  discoveries  made  by  Quimper,  Elisa,  Malaspina  and 
Hustamante,  made  a  last  effort  to  determine  the  existence  of  the 
Northwest  Passage  and  the  desiral)ility  of  contending  further  for 
the  possession  of  Nootka.  If  there  existed  a  navigable  passage 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  then  a  station  in  that  region  would 
l)e  invaluable  to  the  interests  of  Spain;  but  if  the  continent  was 
c(mtinuous,  so  that  vessels  muht  always  entei*  the  Pacific  from  the 
south,  then  an  estal)lishment  in  such  a  high  hititude  would  not  l)e 
sufiiciently  valuable  to  render  a  contest  foi*  its  ])ossession  advisalde. 
He,  therefore,  dispatched  a  vessel  to  search  for  the  Rio  de  los  Reyes 
in  latitude  5;V';  two  others  to  explore  more  fully  the  Straits  of  Fuca, 
and  fiscertain  the  exact  nature  of  those  many  inland  channels  of  the 
existence  of  whicii  simply  the  previous  ex[)lorers  had  reported;  and 
a  fourth  to  seek  a  desirable  ^^cation  along  the  coast  of  the  main  land 
south  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  where  a  station  might  be  esta1)lished 
in  case  the  settlement  at  Nootka  had  to  be  aliandoned  and  it  was 
deemed  necessary  to  have  one  in  this  region.  At  tile  same  time 
Bodega  y  Quadra,  who  had  been  appointed  commissiimer  to  carry 
out  the  stipulations  of  the  Treaty  of  N(H)tka,  proceeded  to  that  port 
to  await  the  arrival  of  the  T'(^!i)resentative  of  Great  Britain.  Thc; 
first  of  these  was  the  Araiizazii,  connuanded  by  Lieutenant  Jacinto 
Caamaiio,  who  minutely  examined  the  Queen  Chai'lotte  Islands, 
sailed  through  the  passage  between  them  and  the  main  land  (enter- 
ing by  Dixon  Channel,  which  he  called  "  Entrada  de  Pere;^,"  in 
honor  of  the  .)riginal  discoverer^  and  made  a  comparatively  accu- 
rate map  of  that  region.  The  expedition  to  the  Straits  of  Fuca 
consisted  of  the  schooners  Suiil  ami  Mexicana,  connuanded  by  offi- 
cers detailed  from  Malaspina's  expedition,  and  supplied  l>y  him  with 


lis 


IIISTOKY  (»K   W'll.LAMKTTK  VAI.i.KY. 


sc'it'iitiHc*  iiistruiiK^iits.  Tlicy  wciv  i-onmiiiiKled  l)y  Dionisio  Galiano 
{ind  Cayctaiio  Valdcz,  and  arrived  at  Nootka  on  the  twelfth  of  May, 
leaving  that  port  for  tlieir  field  of  action  on  the  fourth  of  June. 
The  fourth  vessel  was  the  Princesa.  In  this  ship  Lieutenant  Sal- 
vador Fidalji'o  sailed  from  San  Hhis  on  the  twenty-thii'd  of  March, 
and  ai'rived  at  Port  Nunez  Gaona  (Neah  Hay)  just  within  the  en- 
trance to  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  where  he  erected  huildings  and  forti- 
t'cations.  In  Septend)er,  having  received  orders  from  Quadra  to 
al)andon  this  post,  he  removed  everything  to  Nootka.  Other  Span- 
ish veHsels  passed  up  and  down  between  Nootka  and  Montere}%  or 
San  Bias,  but  their  movements  we'j  immaterial. 

The  commissioner  a])pointed  on  the  pai't  of  England  to  carry 
into  effect  certain  provisions  of  the  Nootka  Treat}',  referring  to  the 
restoration  of  property  at  that  port,  was  Captain  (xeorge  Vancouver, 
of  the  Royal  Navy.  The  Admiralty  took  occasion  to  make  his 
voyage  one  of  extended  discovery,  directing  his  attention  es|»ecially 
to  the  clearing  up  of  geogra])hical  conundrums  on  the  coast,  par- 
ticularly that  of  a  rivei  or  any  other  iutor-oceanic  passage.  Special 
attention  was  to  be  directed  to  the  "supposed  Strait  of  Juar  de 
Fuca,  said  to  I>e  situated  between  the  forty-eighth  and  forty-nnith 
degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  to  lead  to  an  opening  through  ^vhich 
the  sloop  Washington  is  reported  to  have  passed  in  17H9,  and  to 
have  come  out  again  at  the  northward  of  Nootka."  This  voyage 
of  the  Washington,  as  has  been  already  stated,  was  never  made; 
Meares,  who  had  cari'iiHi  the  report  to  England,  having  confused 
Captain  Kendrick's  a-count  of  the  movements  of  that  vessel  with 
geographical'  statements  of  the  Indians.  Vancouver  commanded 
the  sloop  of  wai'  Discover')',  and  accompanied  by  the  armed  tender 
Chatham,  under  Lieutenant  AV.  R.  Broughton,  sailed  in  March, 
1791.  It  is  neeiUess  to  follow  his  movements  for  the  first  year,  as 
they  do  \\i>i  concern  the  purposes  of  this  volume;  it  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  after  a  year  of  exploration  in  otiier  regions,  he  arrived  off 
the  coast  of  California  in  April,  1792,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape 
Mendocino. 

Here  he  began  a  most  careful  examination  of  the  coast,   strict 
watch  being  kept  for  signs  of  harbors  and  navigable  rivers,  espec 
iaily  at  first  of  the  river  reportetl  above  the  forty-third  pai'allel  V)y 
Martin  de  Aguilar  in   1()08.     A   point  in   latitude  42°  52' was  at 


IMCiKT  SOI'M)  AND  OOLUMBtA    lUVKH    DISCOA'KRKl). 


111> 


first  conceived  to  be  the  Cape  Blanco  of  tlie  Sjjaniards,  l>ut  nince  it 
was  composed  of  dark,  craggy  rocks,  instead  of  lieing  white,  Van- 
couver entered  it  on  his  chart  as  "  Cape  Orford."  A  little  further  on, 
in  latitude  415°  23',  he  observed  a  cape  with  white  cliffs,  which  he 
believed  to  be  the  true  Blanco,  but  as  he  also  considered  it  the  one 
Captain  Cook  had  called  "  Cape  Gregory,"  he  entered  the  latter 
name  on  liis  chart.  For  some  distance  he  ranged  along  the  shore 
within  a  league,  looking  carefidly  for  Aguilar's  River,  but  obsei'ved 
no  stream  ha\'iiig  any  such  volume  of  water  as  was  ascribed  to  the 
one  reported  by  the  Spaniard,  and,  indeed,  saw  none  that  offered 
the  least  indication  of  being  navigable  for  ships.  The  next  point 
of  special  interest  to  ]>e  examined  was  that  in  the  vicinity  of  lati- 
tude 4(3°,  where  was  locatad  the  place  called  "  Ensenada  de  Heceta," 
or  "Rio  de  San  Ro(pie,"  on  his  Spanish  charts,  and  "Deception 
Bay "  (m  the  English  ones.  On  the  twenty -seventh  of  April  he 
recorded  in  his  journal: 

Noon  broufifht  US'  up  with  a  conspicuous  point  of  land  composed  of  a  cluster  of 
lunnniocks,  moderately  high  and  i)r<)jecting  into  the  sea.  On  the  south  side  of  this 
promontory  was  the  api)earance  of  an  inlet,  or  small  river,  the  land  not  indicating 
it  to  be  of  any  great  extent,  nor  did  it  seem  to  he  accessible  to  vessels  of  our  burthen, 
as  the  breakers  extended  from  the  above  point  two  or  three  miles  into  the  ocean, 
until  they  joined  tliose  on  the  beach  nearly  four  leagues  further  south.  On  refer- 
ence to  Mr.  Meares'  description  of  the  coast  south  of  this  promontory,  I  was  at  first 
Induced  to  believe  it  was  (..'ape  Shoalwater,  liut  on  ascertaining  its  latitude,  I  pre- 
sumed it  to  be  wlint  he  calls  Cape  Disappointment;  anrl  the  opening  to  the  south  of 
•it  Deception  Bay.  This  cape  was  found  to  be  in  latitude  46°  1!)',  and  longitude  23(i° 
<)'.  [He  reckoned  east  from  (Ireenwich.]  The  sea  now  changed  frt>m  its  natural  to 
river-coloured  wat<!r;  the  probable  conse<iuence  of  some  streams  falling  into  the 
bay,  or  into  the  ocean  to  the  north  of  it,  through  the  low  land.  Not  considering 
this  opening  worthy  of  more  attention,  I  continued  our  pursuit  to  theN.  W.,  being 
desirous  to  eml)race  tlie  advantages  of  the  prevailing  breeze  and  pleasant  weather, 
so  favoiu'able  to  our  exan\ination  of  the  coast. 

Vancouver  i-ouiided  ('ape  I)isaj)])ointment  and  continued  up  the 
sliore.  lie  says:  "The  country  before  us  presented  a  most  luxuri- 
ant landscape,  and  was  j)robably  not  a  little  heightened  in  value  by 
the  weather  that  i)i-evaiU'd.  The  more  interior  [)arts  were  some- 
what elevated,  and  agre«^a)»ly  diversified  with  hills,  from  which  it 
gradually  descended  to  the  shore,  and  terminated  in  a  sandy  beach. 
The  whole  had  the  a})j)earance  of  a  continued  forest  extending 
north  a.s  far  as  tlie  eye  could  reach,  which  made  me  very  solicitous 
to  find  a  port  in  the  vicinity  of  a  country  presenting  so  delightful  a 
prospect  of  fertility;  our  attention  wa.»<  therefore  earnestly  directed 


120 


HISTORY   OK   WILLAMSITTK  VALLKY, 


to  this  oLject."  At  one  time  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  Shoalwater 
Bay  pi'esented  a  snitahh'  harbor,  l)ut  renounced  the  l)elief  upon 
attempting  to  ent'  r  the  bay  and  failing  l)ecause  of  the  pivsence  of 
an  unbroken  line  of  breakers.  They  i)assed  Gray's  Harbor  in  the 
night,  and  after  noting  the  jiosition  of  Destruction  Ishmd  and 
observing  Mount  01ym2)us,  "  tlie  most  remarkable  mountain  we 
had  seen  on  the  coast  of  New  Albion,"  fell  in  with  the  Columbia  a 
few  miles  south  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca. 

Vancouver  sent  an  officer  to  the  American  vessel  to  glean  infor- 
mation from  its  commander,  Avho  hesitated  not  to  tell  him  all  he 
knew  of  the  coast,  including  a  denial  of  the  report  that  he  had 
sailed  around  Vancouver  Island  in  the  Lady  Washington.  Among 
other  things  the  English  captain  notes  in  his  journal:  "He  likewise 
informed  them  of  liis  having  been  off  the  mouth  of  a  river  in  lati- 
tude 40°  10',  where  the- outset,  or  reflux,  was  so  strong  as  to  pre- 
vent his  entering  for  nine  days.  This  was  proV)ably  the  openin-^ 
passed  1)}^  us  on  the  forenoon  of  the  twenty  -  seven  tli ;  and  was, 
apparently,  inaccessible,  not  from  the  current,  l)ut  from  the  breakers 
that  extended  across  it."  That  Gray  must  have  made  this  effort  to 
enter  the  Columbia  sometime  the  previous  year  is  evident  fi'om 
the  fact  that  Vancouver  states  that  he  "was  now  commencing 
his  summer's  trade  along  the  coast  to  the  southward."  The  above 
remarks  show  plainly  that  A'^ancouver  had  no  faith  in  the  existence 
of  such  a  stream  as  AL''uilar's  liiver,  Hio  de  San  Ko([ue,  Oregon,  or 
Rivei'  of  the  W^'st,  and  this  is  rendei'ed  more  certain  l>}'  an  entry 
in  his  journal  made  upon  reaching  Cape  Flattery,  tlnit  there — 

Was  not  the  least  apjjearance  of  a  safe  or  secure  harbour,  either  in  that  hititude,  or 
from  it  soutliward  to  Cape  Mendocino ;  notwithstanding  tliat,  in  that  space,  geogra- 
pliers  had  thouglit  it  expedient  to  furnisli  many.  *  *  *  So  minutely  had 
this  extensive  coast  been  insjjected,  that  the  surf  had  been  constantly  seen  to  break 
upon  its  shores  from  the  mast-head ;  and  it  was  but  in  a  few  small  intervals  only, 
where  our  distance  precluded  its  being  visible  from  the  deck.  Whenever  the  weather 
prevented  our  making  free  with  the  sliore,  or  on  our  hauling  oft'  for  the  night,  the 
return  of  line  weather  and  of  daylight  uuiforndy  brought  us,  if  not  *;o  the  identical 
spot  we  had  departed  from,  at  lea«t  within  a  few  miles  of  it,  and  never  beyond  the 
northern  limits  of  the  coast  which  we  had  previously  seen.  An  examination  so 
directed,  and  circumstanceH  Imppily  concurring  to  permit  its  l)eing  so  executed, 
afTorded  the  most  comi)lete  opportunity  of  determining  its  various  turnings  and 
windings.  *  *  *  It  nmst  be  considered  as  a  very  singular  circumstance 
that,  in  so  great  an  extent  of  sea  coast,  we  should  not  until  now  [He  had  entered 
the  Straits  of  Fuca]  have  seen  the  appearance  of  any  opening  in  its  shores  which 
presented  siny  certain  prospect  of  affording  shelter;  the  whole  coast  forming  one 


IMTftKT  SOUPfD  AND  COLITMIUA    RIVEU  DISCOVERED. 


li>l 


compact,  Holid  and  nearly  straight  barrier  against  the  sea.  The  river  Mr.  Gray 
mentioned  should,  from  the  latitude  he  assigned  it,  have  existence  in  the  bay,  south 
of  Cape  Disappointment.  This  we  passed  on  the  forenoon  of  the  twenty-seventh  ; 
and,  as  I  then  observed,  if  any  inlet  or  river  should  be  found,  it  must  be  a  very  in- 
tricate one,  and  inaccessible  to  vessels  of  our  burthen,  owing  to  the  reefs  and  broken 
water  which  then  appeared  in  its  neighborhood.  Mr.  Gray  stated  that  he  had  been 
several  days  attempting  to  enter  it,  which  at  length  he  had  been  unable  to  ett'ect,  in 
consequence  of  a  very  strong  outset.  This  is  a  phenomenon  difficult  to  account  for 
[Gray  accounted  for  it  easily  enough  by  the  theory  that  the  outset  was  the  discharg- 
ing of  an  unusually  large  river,  a  conclusion  Vancouver  would  not  admit  because  he 
had  been  there  and  had  not  seen  itj,  as,  in  most  cases  where  there  are  outsets  of  such 
strength  on  a  sea  coast,  there  are  corresponding  tides  setting  in.  Be  that,  however, 
as  it  may,  I  was  thoroughly  convinced,  as  were  also  most  persons  of  observation  on 
board,  that  we  c«)uld  not  possibly  have  passed  any  safe  navigat)le  opening,  harbour, 
or  place  of  security  for  shipping  on  this  coast,  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  the  Prom- 
ontory of  Classett  (Cai)e  Flattery) ;  nor  had  we  any  reason  to  alter  our  opinions. 

The  coast  has  since  l)een  found  much  less  barren  of  harbors 
tlian  this  distinguished  navigator  supposed,  though,  with  the  single 
e.xception  of  the  Columbia,  there  are  none  affording  entrance  to 
large  vessels  Avithout  first  undergoing  improvement.  Lea\'ing  Cap- 
tain Vancouver  in  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  let  us  follow  the  movements 
of  the  American  vessel. 

The  Columbia,  as  has  been  stated,  wintered  at  Foi't  Defiance 
in  the  harl)or  of  Clayo(|Uot,  her  crew  being  l)usily  employed  in  con- 
structing a  small  sloop,  which  was  launched  in  February  and  chris- 
tened the  Adventure.  This  was  the  second  vessel  constructed  <m 
the  Pacific  Coast  north  of  the  Spanish  possessions,  Meares'  North- 
west America  being  the  first.  Haswell,  the  first  mate,  was  placed 
in  command  and  sent  northward  on  a  trading  voyage  along  the 
coiist  on  the  second  of  April,  while  Gray  sailed  south  in  the  Co- 
lumbia. Nothing  is  known  of  his  movements  until  the  second  of 
May,  exce[)t  what  Aancouver  records  tis  having  learned  fi'om  him 
as  stated  above.  This  was  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  April,  when 
they  met  just  below  the  entrance  to  Fuca  Straits.  From  that  it 
appears  he  had  been  off  Deception  Bay,  either  that  spring  or  the 
year  })efore,  wliich  he  believed  to  be  the  entrance  to  a  large  river, 
and  which  he  had  in  vain  endeavored  to  enter  for  nine  days.  The 
vessels  parted ;  Vancouver  scouting  the  idea  that  a  river  could  pos- 
sibly exist  at  that  point,  since  he  had  been  there  and  had  not  ob- 
served it,  sailed  into  the  Straits  of  Fuca  in  search  of  an  inter-oceanic 
passage;  Gray,  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  his  own  observa- 
tions, sailed  southward  to  discover  and  enter  the  greatest  river  on 


122 


IIISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


the  Pacific  Coast  and  the  nO'-oiid  in  size  on  the  continent  of  North 
America. 

On  the  seventh  of  May  Gray  entered  a  port  in  latitude  46°  58', 
which  he  nanieil  "'  Bulfinch  Harhor,"  in  honor  of  one  of  the  ovNnieiN 
of  his  veaseh  lie  sailed  out  again  on  the  tenth,  liaving,  while 
there,  repulstnl  an  attack  hy  the  natives,  killing  some  of  the  assail- 
ants, and  on  the  eleventh  safely  crossed  the  bar  which  liad  l)efore 
l)affled  him,  and  sailing  ten  miles  up  the  stream  cast  anchor  in  the 
mighty  Columbia,  for  so  he  named  it  in  honor  of  his  vessel.  He  also 
bestowed  the  name  "Cape  Hancock"  u})on  the  high  promontory 
on  the  n(»rth,  which  had  V>efore  been  known  as  "  Cab«»  de  San 
Rocpie""  and  "P«»int  Disa])j)ointment;"  and  upon  the  low  j^^int  on 
the  south,  fonnerly  called  "  Cape  Frondoso,"  he  bestt>weil  the  name 
''  Point  Adams."  Three  days  later  he  ascended  the  strejmi  fifteen 
miles  further,  an«l  havinij  ffotten  into  shoal  water  bv  reason  of  miss- 
ing  the  channel,  he  dropped  down  again,  and  anchoretl  nearer  the 
mouth.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Chinook  village  <»n  the  noith  bank 
were  very  frieiidly.  and  from  them  Gray  ol)tained  a  large  «[uantity 
of  furs.  It  was  not  until  the  twentieth  that  the  ]>ar  was  smooth 
enough  to  jtermit  the  Cohimhia  to  cross  out,  but  on  that  <lay  she 
sailed  northwanl,  and  later,  at  two  points  on  the  upj)er  coast,  had 
bloody  conflicts  witli  Indians  who  attacked  her.  Here  was  met  the 
Adventure^  which  had  been  twice  aroiuid  Queen  Charlotte  Islands 
and  had  enjoye<I  only  a  moderate  tiade  with  the  Indians.  They 
then  made  another  trading  voyage  to  the  north,  during  whicli  the 
Columbia  struck  up«>n  a  rock  in  the  inland  passage  just  above  lati- 
tude Si",  and  was  considerably  damaged.  She  succee<le<l  in  reach- 
ing Nootka,  where,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Spaniards,  slie  was 
soon  made  tiiiht  and  seaworthv  aijain.  She  aijain  saile<l  north,  met 
the  Adventure  at  Port  Montgomery,  on  Queen  CharK>tte  Island, 
and  both  vessels  returned  to  Nootka,  where  Gray  found  Captain 
Vancouver  and  gave  him  a  memorandum  of  his  discovery  of  the 
r  ^lum])ia  River.  He  then  sailed  for  home  In' way  of  Sandwich 
i  <nd8  and  China,  having  first  sold  the  Adventure  to  Quadra  for 
seventy-five  select  sea-otter  skins. 

After  speaking  the  Columbia^  Vancouver's  two  vessels  entered 
the  Straits  of  Fuca  on  the  thirtieth  of  April,  and  proceetled  slowly 
inland,  making  a  careful  examination  as  he  progressed.     The  ves- 


PIU4KT  SOrND  AND  COLr.MlUA   IMVKU  DISCOVEItK!). 


123 


sels  anchored  at  Port  Discovery  (^tbe  Porto  Bodega  y  Quadra  of 
Lieutenant  Quimper),  and  from  tliat  place,  as  a  rendezvous,  Captain 
Vancouver  and  Lieutenants  Meiizies,  Puget  and  Johnstone  explored 
the  channels  and  hays  to  the  southward  for  a])out  four  weeks. 
Vancouver  bestowed  the  foll<twin<jr  well-known  names  in  that  reffion: 
"  Puget  Sound,"  in  honor  of  Lieutenant  Puget;  "  Hood's  Canal," 
for  Lord  Hood;  "Admiralty  Inlet;"  "Mount  Rainier,"  after  Kear 
Admiral  Rainier  of  the  English  Navy;  "  Vashon  Island,"  after  Cap- 
tain Vashon;  "Port  Orchard,"  the  name  of  the  officer  who  discov- 
ered it ;  "  Possession  Sound,"  where  he  landed  on  the  fourth  of  June 
and  took  possession  in  the  name  of  King  George  of  England; 
"  Port  To wnsend,"  in  compliment  to  the  "noble  Marquis  of  that 
name;"  "  Whidby  Island,"  after  one  of  his  lieutenants;  "Mount 
Bakei,"  discovered  by  Lieutenant  Baker;  "  Bellingham  Bay;" 
"Deception  Passage;"  "  New  Dunginess "  (the  Point  Santa  Cruz 
of  Quimper's  chart),  because  of  a  fancied  reseml)lance  to  Dun- 
giness in  the  British  Channel.  AMien  he  took  possession  on  the 
fourth  of  June  he  applied  the  title  "New  Georgia"  to  all  the  coast 
above  latitude  30°  2(1',  which  was  certainly  cutting  California  off 
very  short  above  San  Francisco  Bay.  This  ceremony  amoinited  to 
nothing  more  than  a  celebration  of  the  King's  birthday,  since,  un- 
der the  Nootka  Convention,  neither  party  could  ac(juire  territorial 
rights  by  any  such  proceeding,  a  farce  vvhich  Perez,  Ileceta,  Bo- 
dega and  Captain  Cook  had  enacted  years  before  at  various  places. 
As  he  emerged  horn  Puget  Sound  and  sailed  northward  into  the 
Canal  del  Rosario,  which  he  re-christened  "  Gulf  of  Georgia,"  he 
fell  in  with  the  two  Spanish  vessels,  Su^t/  and  Mexicana^  whose 
})resence  there  has  already  been  mentioned.  Galiano  and  Valdez 
had  entered  the  Straits  of  Fuca  on  the  fourth  of  June,  and  had  sur- 
veyed as  far  north  as  Tejada  (Texada)  Island.  AVhen  the  S[)auish 
and  English  fleets  encountered  each  other  there  folloned  an  inter- 
change of  courtesies,  leading  to  an  agreement  to  unite  their  labors. 
For  about  three  weeks  they  explored  in  company,  but  then  the  pride 
of  the  Spaniards  would  not  permit  them  to  longer  endure  the  air  of 
superiority  assumed  by  the  English  connnander,  who,  when  they 
had  explored  an  inlet,  would  not  accept  their  report  as  final,  but 
made  a  second  exploration  himself.  That  his  distrust  of  the  Span- 
ish surveys  was  unfounded  is  amply  proven  by  the  charts  of  each 


124 


mSTOKY  OF  WILLAMKTTE  VALLEY. 


after  they  resiimeil  imlej^eiident  action.  The  Spanish  maps  were  as 
accurate  in  detail  a<  those  of  Vancouver,  and  even  moi'e  so,  since 
they  note<l  the  entrance  t<»  Fra-^er  Rivei",  called  "Rio  Blancho,"  the 
existence  of  which  tlie  Enirlishman  denied.  Galiano  and  Valdez 
continued  their  explorations  northward,  entered  the  Pacific  on  the 
twenty-thinl  of  ^Vuirust,  1»y  a  passage  at  the  north  end  of  Vancouver 
Island,  antl  returned  tit  Xootka,  having  made  the  first  complete  cir- 
cumnavigati(vn  of  the  Island. 

When  the  vesseLs  parted  company,  Vancouver  continued  north - 
\tard,  in  advance  of  the  Spaniards,  and  entered  the  ocean  through 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  where  the  Chatham  gi'oundetl  on  the 
rocks,  but  was  sjifely  put  afloat  again.  The  long  channel  al>ove  the 
Gulf  of  Gei^rj^ia  he  called  "Johnstone's  Strait,"  after  one  of  his 
lieutenants,  and  tlie  names  now  l>orne  by  the  most  important  objects 
in  that  region  were  also  best«»wed  by  him,  such  as  "  Burrard  Canal," 
"Bute  Canal,"  "  Broughton  Archipelago,"  "Knight's  Canal," 
"  Smith's  Inlet,"  "  Rivers  Canal,"  etc.  The  fact  that  Vancouver's 
report  was  published  several  yeai-s  1)efore  that  of  Galiano  and 
Valdez's,  and  that  this  region  was  subse([uently  settled  by  English 
speaking  people,  accounts  for  the  surAnval  of  the  English  nomen- 
clature. He  continued  his  explorations  as  far  north  as  latitude  52** 
IS',  when  he  tume«l  about  and  sailed  foi*  Nootka  Sound,  reaching 
that  port  on  the  twentv-eiirhth  of  Auijust.  Here  he  found  the  store 
ship  Dcrdalns,  which  had  been  sent  out  from  England  with  supplies 
and  fresh  instmctions  for  his  guidance  in  arranging  affaii-s  at  Nootka. 
There  he  remained  for  more  than  a  month,  engaged  in  the  fulfill- 
ment oi'  the  diplomatic  purposes  of  his  visit. 

ANTiile  awaiting  Vancouver's  arrival.  Quadra  had  not  l>een  idle, 
but  had  been  gathering  evidence  from  the  Indians  and  ti-aders,  and 
was  especial^v  fortunate  in  securing  a  statement  of  the  events  of 
1788-9  at  Nootka,  signed  by  Gray,  Viana  (then  commanding  a  Por- 
tuiiuese  vessel ),  and  Insrraham,  the  latter  beiuij  now  the  commander 
of  the  trading  vessel  Hope.  All  three  of  these  were  officei"s  of  ves- 
sels which  were  present  at  Nootka  during  the  occuiTence  of  the  dis- 
puted events.  They  testified  that  the  Englishmen  ha<i  not  been 
dispossessed  of  any  lands  and  buildings  whatever;  that  the  only 
pretense  to  a  settlement  by  them  was  the  temporaiy  occupation  of 
a  small  piece  of  gi'oupd  by  Meare.?  in  1788,  while  he  was  building 


PUGET  SOUND  AND  COLUMBIA  KIVKIt  DISCOVEKP:!). 


125 


the  Northwest  America^  which,  with  the  hut  the  \Norkinen  had 
occupied,  was  abandoned  when  thac  work  was  completed;  also,  that 
all  this  was  done  under  the  Fortuiruese  tlai,',  the  scliiK)ner  being 
launchwl  and  sent  out  upon  a  cruise  under  the  same  ensign.  Accord- 
ing to  the  treaty,  it  will  he  rememl)ere<l,  all  buildings  and  tracts  of 
land  of  which  the  subjects  of  Ills  Britannic  Majesty  had  been  dis- 
jKtssessed  by  a  8i»anish  oflicer,  were  to  be  restored.  For  that  pur- 
|M»se  Vancouver  hsul  come,  expecting,  of  course,  to  have  Nootka 
surrendered;  l>ut  he  was  met  l)y  (Quadra  with  proofs  showing  that, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  there  was  nothing  to  be  sur- 
rendered. Vanccmver  would  listen  to  nothing  l)Ut  a  transfer  of  the 
port,  though  he  was  unalde  to  show  any  precise  stipulation  to  that 
efFeit  in  the  treaty.  Qua<lra  offered  to  give  up  Nootka  if  Vancou- 
ver w<tuhl  recofjnize  all  the  coast  south  of  Kuca  Straits  a-s  exclusively 
Spanish;  or  he  offered  to  surrender  absolutely  the  small  parcel  of 
land  on  which  Meares' cal)in  had  stood  and  to  station  himself  at  the 
new  port  in  the  Straits  of  Kuca  until  a  <lecisio)i  on  the  (piestion 
could  be  had  from  Europe.  X'ancouver  would  agree  to  no  ])ropo- 
sitions  whatever.  lie  came,  he  said,  to  receive  an  unconditional 
surrender  of  the  port,  and  if  Qmidra  woidd  not  c«>nsent  to  make  it 
he  would  dei)art.  It  was  finally  decided  that  the  present  status 
should  be  maintained  and  the  two  connnissioners  should  submit  the 
facts  to  their  respective  governments.  Conseipiently,  Vancouver 
dis])atche<l  two  messengers  to  England,  one  via  China,  on  a  Portu- 
guese trading  vessel,  and  one  on  a  Spanish  vessel  to  Mexico  and 
thence  to  Einope.  Qinidra  returneil  to  Monterey,  stopping  on  the 
way  at  Nunez  Gaona,  to  order  Fiihilgo  to  abandon  the  new  settle- 
ment there  and  proceed  to  Nootka  and  assume  command  of  that 
jioi-t.  It  was  f(»rtunate  for  Quadra  that  he  was  as  cautious  as  has 
been  shown,  for  a  few  weeks  later  ro\al  orders  were  received  to 
suiTender  Nootka  u])on  no  consideration  whatever.  The  personal 
relations  of  the  connnissioners  were  most  cordial,  and  before  they 
left  they  agreed  to  name  the  large  island  after  themselves,  and  it 
was  accordingly  entered  upon  l>oth  the  Spanish  and  English  charts 
as  the  "  Island  of  Vancouver  and  Quadra."  In  after  yeai*s,  owing 
to  plainly  apparent  causes,  the  latter 's  name  was  di'opped  from  the 
title.  The  indenniity  to  be  paid  by  Sj>ain  to  Meares  and  his  asso- 
ciates was  finally  fixe<l  at  !S'21(),()«»(),  less  than  one-third  of   the 


i 


l'2(i 


HISTOHY  OF  WILLAMKTTE  VALLET. 


amount  clainu'd,  but  imicli  moiv  than  tlu*  actual  damag<e  siilBFerwl. 

When  lie  had  coniluded  his  ueifotiatiMns.  Vauti^iiver,  amietl 
with  a  rouyh  chart  of  the  Columbia's  mouth,  which  Grav  had  left 
at  Nootka,  sailed  southward  witli  his  fleet,  now  increa?s*-il  t<»  three 
vessels.  On  the  eighteenth  of  ()ct«»l»er  the  Z^A^t/^i/u^.  c«immaniled 
by  Lieutenant  \\'hidby,  entere«l  Buliinch's,  or  (iray's  llarlior,  to 
make  a  thorough  examination,  while  her  two  consorts  c«>utinue4l  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Cohunbia.  On  the  nu»ming  of  the  nineteenth  the 
Clialliani  and  Discovery  attemptnl  the  juissjige  of  the  l»ar,  the 
former  eiossing  safely,  l>ut  the  latter  hauling  off  f«»r  fear  there  was 
not  a  suftieient  dej)tli  of  water.  This  circumstanct'  le«l  Vancouver 
to  record  in  his  journal  that  his  "former  opinion  of  tlus  |x»it  iK-ing 
inaccessible  to  vessels  of  oiu'  ])Uitlien  wjis  now  fully  ci>nfimied.  with 
this  exception,  that  in  very  tine  weather,  with  m«»ler:Ue  win«is,  and 
a  smooth  sea,  vessels  not  exceeilinir  four  hundreil  t<»us  miirht,  s«.i  far 
JUS  we  \vere  able  to  iudije,  ijain  admittance."  It  wif  while  Iviuir  at 
anchor  (tff  the  bar  that  he  gaine<l  a  view  of  a  "high.  n»und  snow- 
mountain  "  far  up  the  stream,  which  he  nameil  "  Mount  St.  Helens." 
in  honoi'  of  his  Kritannic  Majesty's  amba.viadur  at  the  court  of 
Madrid. 

The  iirst  sound  that  salute<l  the  comniamler  «»f  the  Chatliam 
upon  crossing  the  bar  was  the  report  of  a  cannon,  which  was  an- 
swered in  a  similar  manner  by  Lieutenant  Bniughton.  It  came 
from  a  Bristol  brig  called  i\\e  Jenny,  hing  in  a  shfltereil  bay  within 
the  month  of  the  stream,  \vhich  has  ever  since  l»een  kno\vn  as 
"  Baker's  Bay,"  in  lionor  of  the  captain  of  tliat  little  craft.  This 
made  the  second  vessel  to  enter  the  river  l»efore  these  official  repre- 
sentatives of  Great  Britain  undei-took  to  explore  it.  The  Chaiham 
lay  in  the  river  several  days,  during  w  hich  time  Brought(»n  ascendeil 
the  stream  in  a  l)oat  some  one  lumdretl  and  twenty  miles,  as  far  as 
a  point  which  he  named  in  honor  of  the  c(»mmander  of  tl.  -  exjjedi- 
tion,  being  the  same  upon  which  Fort  Vancouver  was  afterwanl 
built  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  high  snow-crownetl 
peak  rising  a))Ove  the  Cascades  to  the  ea^t  he  calle*l  '*  Mount  H«kk1." 
During  his  stay  he  formally  "  took  possesc<ion  of  the  river  and  the 
country  in  its  vicinity  in  his  Britannic  ^lajest^'s  name.  haWng ever)' 
reason  to  believe  that  the  subjects  of  no  other  civilizeil  nation  or 
state  liJid  ever  entered   this  river  liefore."     The  chising  p»rtion  of 


I'UOKT  SOUiVI)  AND  COLUMBIA   RIVKK  DIHCOVEUKl). 


127 


this  sentence  sounds  strangely  from  one  who  hud  in  his  possession 
!it  the  time  he  jienned  it  the  rough  cliart  ma<h*  Ity  ^^ray,  which  had 
lieen  the  cause  of  his  being  there  at  all.  It  is  exidaincd  l>y  saying 
that  he  affected  to  consi<ler  the  broad  estuary  near  the  mouth  of  tlie 
stream  as  no  portion  (tf  the  river,  and  that  in  eonse<|uence  Gray, 
though  he  liad  ascended  the  stream  twenty-five  miles,  had  not 
entered  the  river  propel'.  'I'his  strained  i-onstruetion  England 
maintained  in  the  after  conti-oversy  with  the  liiited  States  about 
the  rights  of  discovery. 

Vancouver  wintered  at  the  Hawaiian  islands,  returning  to 
Xootka  in  May,  1708,  and  finding  that  no  news  liad  been  received 
from  Europe,  sailed  north  to  continue  his  examination  of  the  coast 
from  the  point  he  had  reached  the  year  before.  lie  spent  tiie  sum- 
mer in  this  work,  making,  with  tlie  aid  <»f  Caannu'io's  jnevious 
chart,  (juite  an  accurate  map  of  the  coast.  Erom  latitude  58°  80' 
to  57"  he  called  the  country  "New  Cornwall;"  south  of  that  to  near 
(mtrgia  he  named  it  "New  Hanover,"  taking  formal  and  ceremo- 
nious possession  of  it  all  in  the  name  of  King  George.  Upon  his 
return  tt>  Nootka  in  October,  he  found  that  no  instructions  had  ar- 
rived fi'om  home,  and  he  sailed  for  California.  The  Spaniards  still 
remained  in  (piiet  possession  of  the  dis])uted  2)oi*t.  Quite  a  number 
of  trading  vessels  \vere  on  the  coast  that  season,  but  the  peculiar 
conunercial  character  of  their  voyages  prevented  them  fi'om  accom- 
plishing anything  of  geographical  or  historical  value. 

In  April,  171>8,  the  Mexican  Viceroy,  Revilla-Gigedo,  sent  a  full 
report  of  the  events  and  status  of  affairs  at  Nootka  to  the  home 
government,  accompanied  by  recommendations  for  the  future  course 
of  Spain.  These  were  to  the  effect  that  recent  explorations  had  prac- 
tically demonsti'ated  that  no  Northwest  Passage  existed,  unless,  in- 
deed, it  was  found  by  way  of  the  Columbia  River,  («•  Entrada  de 
Ileceta,  .ind  consequently  that  the  trouble  and  expense  of  maintain- 
ing a  station  as  far  north  as  Nootka  was.  unnecessary  for  the  pro- 
tection of  Spanish  interests.  He  advise<l  that  the  Ccdumbia  be  ex- 
plored and  occupied,  if  found  to  connect  with  the  Atlantic  or  with 
New  Mexico;  otherwise  he  advised  the  sti'engthening  of  the  north- 
ernmost stations  in  California,  the  occupation  of  Bodega  Bay,  and 
any  other  desirable  harbor  which  might  be  found  north  of  that 
[)oint.     He  prepared  to  dispatcli  two  vessels  to  surve}'  the  Colum- 


128 


HIKTOUY  OK  WILLAMKTTK  VALl.KY. 


hia  in  the  spring  of  1704,  but  for  some  reason  tlie  [)roject  was 
abiindonrd.  Early  that  year  word  was  received  fr()ni  Spain  that 
the  ]H)ints  in  dispute  liad  been  setth'd.  Quadra  died  in  March,  and 
(len.  Jose  Manual  d  Alava  was  !ij)pointed  his  successor,  and  sent  to 
Nootka  with  the  understanding  that  his  instructions  would  follow 
him. 

Captain  Vancouver  again  visited  the  northern  coast  in  the  spring 
of  17i>4,  and  extended  his  ex})lorations  as  far  as  the  head  of  Cook's 
Inlet,  becoming  convinced  that  no  passage  whatever  connected  the 
Pacific  with  the  Atlantic  or  any  of  the  l»ays  or  seas  leading  off  from 
it.  lie  then  went  to  Nootka,  arriving  on  the  second  of  September, 
where  he  found  Alava,  the  Sj)anisli  counnissioner.  Neither  was 
aAvare  of  the  terms  of  settlement,  so  they  enjoyed  each  other's  hos- 
pitalities and  awaited  instructions.  No  orders  having  been  received 
by  the  sixteenth  the  commissioners  sailed  for  Monterey,  where  Al- 
ava soon  afterwards  ivceived  his  instructions.  These  were  to  the 
effect  that  an  amicable  settlement  had  be'en  arrived  at,  and  that 
England  had  ai)pointed  a  new  conmiissioner.  Upon  receipt  of  this 
intelligence  A'ancouver  at  once  set  sail  for  England,  ^vhere  he  ar- 
rived in  October,  1795.  His  narrative  of  his  four  years'  voyag*' 
and  explorations,  the  most  complete  and  important  ever  issued  up 
to  that  time,  Avas  published  in  1798,  previous  to  which  the  great 
explorer  died. 

The  settlement  spoken  of  was  the  one  signed  at  Madrid  by  the 
representatives  of  Spain  and  England,  on  the  eleventh  of  January, 
1794.  The  tide  of  European  politics  had  so  ,'uni'xi  that  it  was  then 
the  best  policy  of  both  England  and  Spain  to  form  an  alliance, 
hence  the  nuitual  concessions  in  this  agreem*.  ut.  The  treaty  pro- 
vided that  commissioners  of  both  nations  should  meet  at  Nootka, 
and  that  formal  possession  of  the  tract  claimed  l)y  Meares  be  given 
to  the  representative  of  England  by  the  Spanish  commissioner.  It 
continued  in  the  following  explicit  language: — 

Then  the  British  officer  shall  unfurl  the  British  flag  over  the  land  thus  restored 
as  a  sign  of  possession,  and  after  these  formalities  the  officers  of  the  two  crowns 
shall  retire  respectively  their  people  from  the  said  port  of  Nootka.  And  their  said 
majesties  have  furthermore  agreed  that  the  subjects  of  both  nations  shall  be  free  to 
frequent  the  said  port  as  may  be  convenient,  and  to  erect  there  temporary  buildings 
for  their  accommodation  during  their  residence  on  such  occasions.  But  neither  of 
the  two  parties  shall  make  in  said  port  any  permanent  establishment,  or  claim  there 
any  right  of  sovereignty  or  territorial  dominion  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other.    And 


to 


PUGEX'80UND  AND  COLUMBIA   KIVKR  DISCOVKRKl). 


120 


their  oaid  majesties  will  aid  each  other  to  maintain  their  ^ubjectH  in  free  iicceHH  to 
the  said  port  of  Nootlia  againut  whatever  other  nation  may  att«mpt  to  establisli 
there  any  sovereignty  or  dominion. 

This  solemn  farce  was  actually  enactnl  theiv  on  the  twenty-third 
of  March,  1795,  ]>y  General  Alava  on  th«'  |>art  <»f  Spain,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Thomas  Pierce  as  representative  of  Great  Britain.  Eveiy- 
thing  portable  was  then  embarked  on  tlie  Spanish  vessels,  which 
sailed  away  and  left  Nootka  again  in  th<'  soh'  possessi<jn  of  the 
natives.  From  that  day  to  this  no  whitf  settlement  has  been  at- 
tempted at  that  historical  port.  English  historians,  jind  nniny  others 
writing,  like  them,  from  incomplete  data,  have  assertt^d  that  the  port 
of  Nootka  was  surrendered  to  England  by  the  Sjtaniards;  Imt  such 
the  above  (piotation  from  the  treaty  shows  not  to  have  been  the 
case.  Only  the  small  patch  of  ground  claimwl  by  Meares  to  have 
been  purchased  from  Ma(iuinna  was  f(jrmall}-  ti'ansferred ;  and  Eng- 
land was  as  firmly  bound  as  Spain  not  to  make  any  future  settle- 
ment at  that  point,  while  both  were  at  liWrt}-  to  occupy  any  other 
points  they  might  see  fit.  Their  interests  in  Europe,  however,  were 
80  closely  linked  for  the  next  few  years  that  neither  felt  it  necessary 
to  attempt  any  settlements  on  the  upjjer  Pacific  Coast  as  a  safeguard 
against  the  other.  No  other  nation  attemptetl  t<^>  plant  a  colony 
here,  and  thus  the  matter  stood  for  nearly  a  score  of  years,  when 
the  question  of  ownership  was  raised  by  a  new  claimant — the  United 
States.  Traders  continued  to  carry  on  the  fur  lousiness  as  Ijefore, 
but  their  operations  were  of  little  historical  importance. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


OVERLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THE  PACIFIC. 

Oi'tjanlsation  of  the  Nviihioest  Company  of  Montreal  Mackenzie^ s 
Journey  to  the  Arctic  Ocean — His  Trip  to  the  Pacific  in  1793 — Dis- 
covery and  Naming  of  Frnner  River — T.  eaty  of  179^.  Opens  a  West- 
ern Field  for  American  Tracers — Confliotini/  Claims  of  Various 
Nations  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Present  Century—Spain  Reconveys 
Louisiana  to  France  in  1800 — Thomas  Jefferson'' s  Efforts  to  have  the 
Unknown  Region  Explored — Louisiana  Purchased  hy  the  United 
States — The  Lewis  and  Clarke  Expedition — They  Winter  loith  the 
Mandan  Lndians — Ascend  the  Missouri — Cross  to  Clarke^s  Fork — 
Reach  the  Nl~  Perces — Descend  Clearwater,  Lewis  [Snake)  and 
Columbia  Rivers  to  the  L^aoific — Winter  at  Fort  Clatsop — The  Mult- 
nomah, or  Willamette,  River — The  Walla  Walla,  Cayuse  and  Net 
Perce  Indians — Lewis  and  Clarke  Descend  the  Yellowstone  and 
Missouri — Effect  of  their  Great  Journey — Anxiety  of  irreat  Britain 
— Fort  Eraser  Established  in  New  Caledoihior — Fort  Henry  Built 
on  Snake  River. 


IT  ha.s  been  related  how  the  early  French  explorers  pushed  their 
way  gradually  westward,  until,  in  1743,  the  Verendryes  pene- 
trated to  the  heart  of  the  ll«>cky  Mountains,  and  how,  with  the  con- 
(piest  of  Canada  by  the  English,  these  explorations  suddenly  cesised. 
Thirty  years  elapsed  before  they  were  again  rv^s'uued  by  sul)jects  of 
the  new  rnlei's  of  ( 'anada,  except  in  the  instance  of  Captain  Carver, 
whose  j)retentions  claims  have  already  been  considered.  Meanwhile, 
the  American  Colonies  had  fought  and  gained  the  War  of  Inde- 
pendence, and,  as  a  result,  P^ngland  was  dt^^rived  of  all  her  posses- 
sions south  of  the  great  chain  of  lakes.  France  had  sold  Louisiana 
to  Spain,  as  has  l>een  related,  which  gave  that  nation,  in  conjunction 
with   her  California   possessions,  propi-ietary  claim   to  the  whole 


OVERLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THE  PACIFIC. 


131 


country  Ipng  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific,  and  extend- 
ing indefinitely  northward.  How  extensive  that  region  was,  or 
what  it  contained,  no  one  knew,  and  the  Spanish  owners  were  not 
inquisitive  enough  to  find  out.  England  was  cut  off  from  it  except 
in  the  region  lying  north  of  Minnesota,  certainly  not  a  very  in\'iting 
field  for  exploration ;  and  the  young  Republic  was  too  busy  setting 
its  government  in  good  running  order  to  engage  in  explorations  of 
new  territories.  When,  at  last,  westward  journeys  were  again 
undertaken,  it  was  solely  l)y  private  enterprise  in  the  interests  of 
trade. 

A  number  of  Montreal  fur  traders  pushed  a^.  fai*  westward  as 
the  Athabasca  and  Saskatchewan  as  early  as  1775,  and  carried  on 
an  independent  trade  wnth  the  natives.  Competitit)n  with  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  became  too  heavy  for  them  indi'  Ithially,  and 
in  1784  they  combined  together  as  the  Northwest  (Joinpany  of  Mon- 
treal. Thus  strengthened,  and  all  its  agents  l)ein^  interested  part- 
ners, it  prospered  wonderfully  and  became,  in  a  few  years,  a  most 
powerful  organization.  In  17H8  the  station  which  iiad  been  estab- 
lished ten  years  before  on  Athabasca  River  was  removed  to  Lake 
Athabasca,  some  twelve  hundred  miles  northwest  of  Lake  Superioi-, 
and  called  "  Fort  Chipewyan,"  and  this  became  the  great  western 
headquaiters  of  the  company.  Traders  covered  the  whole  country 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  almost  to  the  Arctic. 

This  advance  post  wjis  under  the  charge  of  Alexander  Macken- 
zie, a  partner  in  the  Northwest  Company,  who  made  a  journey  to 
the  north  in  1789,  discovered  the  Mackenzie  River,  and  followed  it 
from  its  source  in  (xreat  Slave  Lake  to  where  it  discharges  its  icy 
waters  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  By  this  journey  the  cluu'acter  and 
extent  of  the  continent  to  the  northwest  was  ascertained,  aa  well  as 
the  fact  that  there  existed  no  passage  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
south  of  the  great  northern  sea.  In  1791  he  started  with  a  small 
l)arty  upon  a  western  tri]),  intent  upon  reacliing  the  Pacific.  Fol- 
lowing up  Peace  River  to  the  base  of  the  Kocky  Mountains,  he 
(tamped  there  for  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  continued  his  journey 
«long  the  course  of  that  stream  and  came  upon  the  Fr.'iser  River, 
down  which  he  passed  in  canoes  a  distance  oi  two  huiubvd  and  fifty 
miles.  To  this  stream  he  applied  the  Indian  title  of  "Tacoutchee- 
Tiissee,"  a  nan)e  somewhat  similar  to  that  which  the  navigators  hud 


I3y 


HI8T0KY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


a  few  years  before  applied  to  the  Straits  of  Fuca.  He  finally 
abandoned  the  river  and  struck  directly  westward,  reaching  the 
coast  at  the  North  Bentinck  Arm,  only  a  short  time  after  it  had 
been  explored  by  Vancouver's  fleet.  When  he  learned  upon  his 
return  that  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  had  been  discovered,  he 
supposed  that  the  large  river  which  he  had  followed  so  far  south- 
ward must  1)6  that  great  stream;  and  so  it  was  considered  to  be 
until  twenty  years  later,  when  Simon  Fraser,  a  representative  of 
the  same  fur  company,  descended  it  to  its  mouth  in  the  Gulf  of 
Georgia,  and  ascertained  its  true  character.  As  Mackenzie's  name 
was  aL  v  ady  applied  to  a  large  river,  this  stream  wa^  then  christened 
"  Fraser  Kiver." 

Tliese  various  sea  and  land  expeditions  had  proved  three  very, 
important  facts:  first,  that  there  was  no  water  passage  for  vessels 
across  the  continent;  second,  that  by  following  the  courses  of 
streams  and  lakes  the  overland  journey  could  be  nearly  accom- 
})lished  in  ])oat8;  third,  that  this  vast  imexplored  region  abounded 
in  fur-bearing  animals,  a  fact  which  led,  in  a  few  years,  to  its  occu- 
pation by  the  rival  fur  traders,  both  English  and  American.  At 
this  time  the  Spanish  chiim  of  Louisiana  clouded  the  whole  region 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  though  its  limits  were  undefined,  it 
extended  indefinitely  into  the  unknown  region  lying  north  of  Mexico 
and  California.  The  Americans  were  especially  hampered  in  their 
trading  operations  on  the  frontier.  The  Mississippi  formed  a  defi- 
nite and  recognized  western  boundery  to  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  line  of  forts  along  the  south  side  of  the  chain  of 
great  lakes  were  still  held  by  Great  Britain,  notwithstanding  they 
should  have  been  sm-rendered  under  the  treaty  of  1788.  When 
that  convention  was  f<jrmed,  the  rejiresentatives  of  England  endeav- 
ored to  have  the  Alleghanies  fixed  as  the  western  limit  of  the 
new  nation,  but  the  American  commissioners  insisted  that  as 
British  colonies  the  states  had  j)reviously  exercised  jurisdiction  as 
far  west  tis  the  Mississippi,  and  the  safety  ;)f  the  Republic  re<piii"ed 
that  she  still  continue  to  do  so;  and  they  carried  their  point.  By 
a  special  treaty  made  in  1794,  England  surrenderetl  possession  of 
the  lake  posts,  and  the  two  rations  agreed  that  both  should  have 
unrestricted  intercourse  and  trade  in  the  great  western  regi(ui. 
From  that  time  American  traders  extended  their  operations  fujluer 


OVERLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THE  PACIFIC. 


133 


westward.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  also  began  to  invade  the 
field  occupied  by  its  great  rival,  the  Northwest  Company  of 
Montreal. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  territorial  claims 
of  the  various  nations  on  the  Pacific  Coast  weve  exceedingly  con- 
flicting. The  claim  of  Russia  to  Alaska  was  recognized  as  valid, 
having  been  established  both  by  discovery  and  occupation;  though 
as  yet  no  definite  southern  limit  was  fixed.  Spain's  claim  to  Cali- 
fornia was  also  undisputed,  extending  to  the  forty-second  parallel. 
Between  these  two  both  England  and  Spain  claimed  title  by  right  of 
discovery  only,  since  by  the  Nootka  convention  both  had  agreed  to 
l".  •  no  claim  whatever  upon  the  actual  or  asserted  occupation  of 
ti  u  representatives  or  sulgects  at  Nootka  Sound.  The  United 
States,  also,  by  reason  oi  Gray's  discovery  of  the  Columbia,  had 
laul  a  foundation  for  a  claim  to  the  whole  region  drained  by  that 
mighty  river,  as  yet  unasserted,  but  which  was  pressed  with  nuich 
vigor  and  final  partial  success  a  few  years  later.  Besides  these  dis- 
covery rights,  the  J^ouisiana  Province,  which  France  hs^d  transferred 
to  Spain  in  176!2,  was  construed  by  its  possessor,  or,  more  accu- 
rately speaking,  its  technical  claimant,  to  cover  the  whole  region 
west  of  the  Mississijjpi  not  claimed  by  the  same  nation  as  portions 
of  Mexico  and  California.  This  title  was  reconveyed  to  France  in 
the  year  1H''0,  thus  putting  that  mition  again  into  the  field  as  a 
claimant  ^  i  t-  jj'itory  in  the  western  portion  of  North  America. 

It  1''  1  '  .  ■ .  uiend)ered  that  John  Ledyard,  who  had  })een  one  of 
Captain  C-  j'<  ^  nmen,  undertook  to  interest  American  and  French 
capitalists  in  ^  <.^  '^acific  fur  trade,  soon  after  the  return  of  that  ex- 
pedition to  England.  At  that  time  Thomas  Jefferson  was  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  I'nited  States  at  the  Court  of  Versailles,  and  he 
became  deeply  interested  in  this  great  western  region.  Hj  naturally 
j)referred  that  his  own  country  shoujd  fall  h.eir  to  such  a  magnifi- 
cent inheritance;  but  more  than  a  decade  [)ji8sed  l)efore  the  States 
had  p'>»fected  their  government  and  regulated  those  national  affairs 
requi  ir.v  immediate  and  careful  consideration,  and  during  that 
time  ii  v  ".  •  'die  lo  think  of  furthei  accessions  of  territory.  How- 
ever, in  1792,  he  proposed  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
that  a  subscription  be  raised  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  some  com- 
petent person  to  explore  the  country  lying  between  the  Mississippi 


\u 


U18T0RY  OF  WILLAMKTTK  VAI.LKY. 


River  and  Pacific  Ocean,  "  by  Jiacencling  the  MisHouri,  crossing  the 
Stony  Mountains,  and  descending  the  nearest  river  to  the  Pacific." 
His  suggestion  was  acted  upon,  and  the  position  having  been  eagerly 
solicited  by  Lieutenant  Meriwether  Lewis,  a  Virginian,  that  gentle- 
man was  selected  at  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  His 
traveling  companion  was  Mr.  Andre  Michaux,  a  distinguished 
French  botanist,  then  living  in  the  United  States  in  the  employ  of 
his  govti'nment.  When  they  had  proceeded  as  far  as  Kentucky, 
Mr.  Michaux  was  recalled  by  tl^  French  Minister,  and  the  expedi- 
tion was  abandoned. 

Soon  after  France  again  acquire  itle  to  Louisiana,  Napoleon 
i-ecognized  the  fact  that  it  would  only  he  a  source  of  annoyance  and 
expense  to  the  nation.  His  ambitious  designs  in  Europe  arrayed 
England  and  other  po\verful  nations  in  hostility  to  France,  and  to 
avoid  the  necessity  of  having  to  provide  for  the  protection  of  vast 
territorial  possessions,  as  well  as  to  place  in  the  field  an  active  and 
now  powerful  rival  to  England,  be  opened  secret  negotiations  for 
the  tr.msfer  of  the  whole  Pro\'ince  to  the  LTnited  States.  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson was  then  President,  and  grasped  eagerly  the  o[)portunity  to 
realize  his  long- cherished  desire,  and  by  so  doing  render  his  admin- 
istration one  to  be  forever  rememl)ered  l)y  his  countrymen.  Even 
before  the  treaty  was  concluded,  he  began  to  i)ut  his  plan  of  oper- 
ations into  effect;  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  January,  1803,  lie  sub- 
mitted to  Congress  a  special  message  on  the  Indian  (piestion,  in 
which  he  incorporated  a  suggestion  that  an  official  expedition  be 
dispatched  u})on  the  same  journey  as  the  private  one  woidd  have 
accomplished  ten  ye'ars  before,  had  it  not  been  abandoned.  Con- 
gress approved  the  idea  and  made  an  ample  appropriation  to  carry 
it  into  effect.  Lewis  was  then  acting  in  the  capacity  of  private  sec- 
retar}'  to  tlie  President,  and  once  more  solicited  the  direction  of  the 
enterprise.  In  tliis  he  was  again  successful.  He  held  at  that  time 
the  rank  of  captain,  and  having  selected  AVilliam  Clarke  as  his  asso- 
ciate, tliat  gentleman  also  received  a  captain's  commission. 

In  the  instructions  drawn  up  for  the  guidance  of  the  party,  tlie 
Presiddit  says:  "The  o])ject  of  your  mission  is  to  explore  the 
Missoiu'i  River,  and  such  principal  streams  of  it,  as,  by  its  course 
and  communication  with  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  whether 
the  Columbia,  Oregon,  Colorado,  or  any  other  river,  may  offer  the 


OVERLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THE  I'ACIFK' 


185 


most  direct  aud  practicable  water  coinimiiiication  across  the  conti- 
nent, for  the  i)urpo8es  of  commerce."  They  were  directed  to  ac- 
quire as  intimate  a  knowledge  as  possible  of  the  extent  and  number 
of  Indian  tril)es,  their  manners,  customs  and  degree  of  civilization, 
and  to  report  fully  upon  the  topography,  the  character  of  the  soil, 
the  natural  products,  the  animal  life  and  minerals,  as  well  as  to  as- 
certain by  scientific  observations  and  inquiry  as  much  as  possible 
about  the  climate,  and  to  impiire  especially  into  the  fur  trade  and 
the  needs  of  commerce.  Since  Louisiana  had  not  yet  been  formally 
conveyed  to  the  United  States,  the  instructitms  contained  a  para- 
graph saying:  "  Your  mission  has  been  communicated  to  the  min- 
isters here  from  P^ ranee,  Spain  and  (Ireat  Britain,  and  through  them 
to  their  governments;  and  such  assurances  g:  -"■<y  them  as  to  its  ob- 
jects, as  we  trust  will  satisfy  them,.  The  country  of  Louisiana  hav- 
ing been  ceded  by  Spain  to  France,  the  passport  you  have  from  the 
minister  of  Fi-ance,  the  representative  of  the  present  sovereign  of 
the  country,  will  be  a  protection  with  all  its  subjects;  and  that  from 
the  minister  of  England  will  entitle  you  to  the  friendly  aid  of  any 
traders  of  that  allegiance  with  whom  you  may  happen  to  meet." 

The  French  passport  w{\s  rendered  needless  by  the  receipt  of  the 
joyful  intelligence  a  few  days  before  they  started  that  Louisiana  had 
been  formally  ceded  to  the  L^nited  States.  Lewis  left  Washington 
on  the  fifth  of  July,  1808,  and  was  joined  by  Clarke  at  Louisville. 
Having  selected  the  men  to  compose  tlu'ir  party,  they  went  into 
camp  near  St.  Louis  and  remained  until  spring.  The  final  start 
was  made  on  the  fourteenth  of  May,  1 H04,  the  part}'  consisting  of 
Captain  Meriwether  Lewis,  Captain  William  Clai'ke,  nine  young 
men  fi'om  Kentucky,  fourteen  soldiers,  two  F'l'ench  Canadian  water- 
men, of  the  class  called  "voyageurs"  among  the  fur  traders,  an  in- 
terpreter ♦ind  huntei"  and  a  negro  servant  of  Captain  Clarke.  There 
were,  also,  a  number  of  assistants  who  accompanied  the  party  as 
far  as  the  Mandan  country.  The  Missouri  river  was  ascended  as 
far  as  the  region  occupied  by  tlie  Mandan  Indians,  with  whom  they 
remain^  all  winter,  learning  mucli  from  tiieii"  hosts  of  the  geogra- 
phy of  the  surrounding  countiy  as  well  as  its  native  inhabitants. 
While  there  they  negotiated  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  between 
the  Mandans  and  Ricarees,  between  whom  hostilities  had  existed  for 
a  long  time. 


18<> 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMKTTK  VALLKV. 


The  westwaiii  journey  was  resumed  iu  the  spring  of  1805.  They 
still  followetl  up  the  Missouri,  of  whose  coui'se,  tri1>utaries  and  the 
great  falls  they  had  received  very  minute  and  accurate  information 
fi'oni  their  Mandan  fi'iends.  Passing  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone, 
which  name  they  recoiil  as  being  but  a  translation  of  "Ro<"he  Jaune," 
the  title  given  it  by  the  French- Canadian  trappei"s  who  had  already 
visited  it,  they  continued  up  the  Missouri,  pjissed  the  castellate<l 
rocks  and  the  great  falls  and  cascades,  ascended  through  the  mighty 
canyon,  anil  reached  the  headwaters  of  the  stream,  crossed  the  Rocky 
Mountain  divide  and  came  upon  the  stream  variously  known  along 
its  course  as  *•  Deer  Lodge,"  "  Hellgate,"  "  BitteiToot,"  "  Clarke's 
Fork  of  the  Columbia  "  and  "  Pend  d'Oreille."  l^pon  this  they 
bestowed  the  name  "  Clarke's  River,"  and  so  it  should  l)e  calleil 
from  its  source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  where  it  unites  with  the 
main  stream  in  British  Columbiij,  From  this  river  the  advance 
party  under  Clarke  crossed  the  Bitterr-jot  Mountains  by  the  Lolo 
trail,  suffering  intensely  from  cold  and  hunger,  and  on  the  twentieth 
of  September  reacheil  a  village  of  Nez  Perce  Indians,  situated  on  a 
plain  about  fifteen  miles  fi'om  the  south  fork  of  Clearwater  River, 
where  they  were  receivetl  with  great  hospitality.  This  lii-st  pjissage 
of  the  mountains  V\v  representatives  of  the  Uniteti  States  and  their 
warm  reception  by  the  Indians  contrast  strongl>  with  a  scene 
witnessed  by  this  same  Lolo  trail  seventy-two  yeai-s  later  when 
Howard's  army  hotly  i)ursued  Chief  Joseph  and  his  little  l>and  of 
hostile  Nez  Perces,  who  were  fleeing  before  the  avengei-s  fi'om  the 
scene  of  their  many  bloody  massacres. 

The  almost  famished  men  partook  of  such  quantities  of  the  food 
liberally  providetl  by  theii"  savage  hosts  that  man}"  of  them  l>ecame 
ill,  among  them  being  Captain  Clarke,  who  was  unable  to  continue 
the  journey  until  the  second  day.  He  then  went  to  the  village  of 
Twisted -hair,  the  chief,  situated  on  an  island  in  the  strejmi  men- 
tioned. To  the  river  he  gave  the  name  "  Koos-koas-kee,"  errone- 
ously supposing  it  to  be  its  Indian  title.  The  probabilities  are  that 
the  Nez  Perces,  in  trying  to  inform  Captain  Clarke  that  this  river 
flowed  into  a  still  larger  one,  the  one  variously  known  sus  "  Lewis," 
"  Sahaptin  "  or  "  Snake,"  used  the  words  "  Koots-kootv'»-kee,"  mean- 
ing "  This  is  the  smaller,"  and  were  understood  to  have  meant  that 
as  the  name  of  the  stream.     The  Nez  Perce  name  is  "  Kaih-kaih- 


OVERLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THE  PACIFIC. 


137 


koosh,"  signifying  "Cleanvater,"  the  title  it  is  generally  known  by. 

Having  lieen  united,  the  two  parties  a  few  days  later  journeyed 
on  down  the  Clearwater.  Concerning  their  deplorable  condition 
and  their  method  of  traveling  the  journal  says:  "  Captain  Lewis 
and  two  of  the  men  were  taken  very  ill  last  evening,  and  to-day  he 
could  scarcely  sit  on  his  horse,  while  others  were  obliged  to  be  put 
on  horseback,  and  some,  from  extreme  weakness  and  pain,  were 
forced  to  lie  down  alongside  of  the  road.  *  *  *  The  weather 
was  very  hot  and  oppressive  to  the  party,  most  of  whom  are  now 
complaining  of  sickness.  Our  situation,  indeed,  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  husband  our  remaining  strength,  and  it  was  determined  to 
proceed  down  the  river  in  canoes.  Captain  Clarke,  therefore,  set 
out  with  Twisted-hair,  and  two  young  men,  in  quest  of  timber 
for  canoes.  *  *  *  Having  resolved  to  go  down  to  some  spot 
calculated  for  building  canoes,  we  set  out  early  this  morning  and 
pi'oceedetl  five  miles,  and  encamped  on  the  low  ground  on  the  south, 
opposite  the  forks  of  the  river."  The  canoes  being  constructed,  they 
embarked,  in  the  month  of  October,  on  their  journey  down  the  Clear- 
water and  connecting  streams,  for  the  Pacific,  leaving  what  remained 
of  their  horses  in  charge  of  the  friendly  Nez  Perces.  They  had  for 
some  time  lieen  subsisting  upon  roots,  fish,  horse-meat  and  an  occa- 
sional deer,  crow,  or  wolf,  but  having  left  their  horses  behind  them, 
their  resort,  when  out  of  other  food,  now  became  the  wolfish  dogs 
they  purchased  fi'om  the  Indians. 

Upon  reaching  Snake  River,  which  was  named  in  honor  of 
Captain  LeAvis,  the  canoes  were  turned  down  that  stream,  which 
they  followed  to  the  Columbia,  naming  the  Tukannon  River  "  Kim- 
so-emim,"  a  title  derived  fi'om  the  Indians,  and  upon  the  Palouse 
l)e8towing  the  name  ''Drewyer,"  in  honor  of  the  hunter  of  the 
party.  They  then  followed  down  the  Columbia,  passing  a  number  of 
rapids,  and  arrived  at  the  Cascades  on  the  twenty-first  of  October. 
A  portage  was  made  of  all  their  effects  and  a  portion  of  the  canoes, 
the  remainder  making  the  perilous  descent  of  the  Cascades  in  safety. 
The  mouth  of  the  Willamette  was  passed  without  the  addition  of 
so  large  a  stream  being  noticed.  Cape  Disappointment  was  reached 
November  fifteenth,  and  the  eyes  of  the  weary  travelei-s  were 
gladdened  with  a  sight  of  the  great  ocean  which  had  been  their  goal 
for  more  than  a  year.     The  season  of  winter  rains  having  set  in, 


138 


HISTORY   OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


they  were  soon  driven  by  high  water  from  the  low  land  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  stream,  eleven  miles  above  the  cape,  which  thej- 
had  selecteil  for  their  winter  residence.  They  then  left  the  Chin- 
ooks,  crosseil  the  river,  and  built  a  habitation  on  the  high  land  on 
the  south  side  oi  the  stream,  which  they  called  "  Fort  Clatsop,"  in 
honor  of  the  Indians  which  iuhal>ited  that  reijion.  Here  thev 
spent  the  winter,  making  occasional  short  excursions  along  the 
coast.  The  departure  for  home  was  delayed  with  the  hope  that 
some  trading  vessel  might  appear,  from  Aviiich  sadly-neeiled  supplies 
could  be  oV)tained,  but  being  disappointed  in  this  they  loadetl  their 
canoes,  and  on  Mai'ch  23,  180(i,  took  final  leave  of  Fort  Clat.*op. 
Before  going  they  presented  the  chiefs  of  the  Chinooks  and  Clatsops 
^^'ith  certificates  of  kind  and  hosj3ital)le  treatment,  and  circulatetl 
among  the  natives  several  papers,  posting  a  copy  on  the  wall  of  the 
abandone<l  fort,  which  read  as  follows:  "The  o]>ject  of  this  last  Is 
that  through  the  metlium  of  some  civilized  person,  who  may  see 
the  same,  it  may  V»e  made  known  tt>  the  world,  that  the  part^-,  con- 
sisting of  the  pei-sous  whose  names  are  hereunto  annexed,  and  who 
were  sent  out  V»y  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  explore 
the  interior  of  the  continent  of  North  xVmerica,  did  penetrate  the 
same  by  the  way  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  rivei-s,  to  the  dis- 
charge of  the  latter  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  where  they  arrived  on 
the  fourteenth  day  of  November,  1805,  and  departetl  the  twentA"- 
third  day  of  ^larch,  18()<%  on  their  return  to  the  UnitKl  States  by 
the  same  route  by  which  they  had  comv  out,"  T«->  this  was  appended 
a  list  of  the  mend>ers  of  the  expedition.  One  of  these  copies  was 
handed  by  an  Indian  the  following  year  to  Captain  Hall,  an  Ameri- 
can fur  trailer,  whose  vessel,  the  Lydia,  had  entere<l  the  Columbia, 
by  w-hom  it  was  taken  to  China  and  thence  to  the  United  States: 
thus,  even  had  tne  j tarty  perished  on  the  return  j«>urney,  evidence 
of  the  completitm  of  theu'  task  was  not  wanting. 

Upon  taking  an  invoice  of  their  possessions  })efore  starting  up^»u 
the  ret\n-n,  the\  found  that  their  gooils  available  for  traffic  with  the 
Indians  consisted  of  six  blue  robes,  one  scarlet  rol)e,  one  Unitetl 
States  artillery  hat  and  coat,  five  robes  made  frt>m  the  national 
ensign,  and  a  few  old  clothes  trimmed  \nth  ribbon.  Upon  these 
must  they  depend  for  pm*chasmg  pro\'isions  and  horses,  and  for 
v^nnning  the  hearts  of   stublwm  chiefs.     They  proceeded  up  the 


OVERLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THE   PACIFIC. 


139 


south  bank  of  the  stream,  until  they  came  unexiiectedly  upon  a 
large  river  flowing  into  it  from  the  south.  On  an  island  near  its 
mouth,  knoAVTi  to  the  early  trappei^s  as  '*  Wapatoo,"  and  now  called 
"Sauvne's  Island,"  they  came  u[)on  an  Indian  village,  where  they 
were  refused  a  suppl}'  of  food.  To  impress  them  with  his  jiower, 
Captain  Clarke  entered  one  of  their  habitations  and  cast  a  few 
sulphur  matches  into  the  fire.  The  savages  were  frightened  at  the 
blue  flame,  and  looked  upon  the  strange  visitor  as  a  great  medicine 
man.  They  implored  him  to  extinguish  the  "  evil  fire,"  and  l)rought 
all  the  food  he  desired.  The  name  of  the  Indian  village  was  "  Mult- 
nomah,"  but  Captain  Clarke  understood  the  name  to  apply  to  the 
river,  of  whose  coui-se  he  made  careful  incpiiry.  Ujion  the  map  of 
this  expedition  the  "  Multnomah  "  is  indicated  as  extending  south- 
ward and  eastward  into  California  and  Nevada,  and  the  Indians 
who  reside<l  along  the  strt'ams  that  flow  fi'om  southeastern  Oregon 
into  the  Snake,  are  represented  as  li\"ing  <»n  the  upper  branches  of 
the  Multnomah.  The  true  Indian  name  of  the  river  and  valley  is 
"  Wallamet,"  which  has  been  corrupted  to  "  Willamette  "  by  those 
who  conceived  the  idea  that  it  was  of  French  origin.  The  confusion 
between  Indian,  French  and  English  names  in  this  region  has 
resulted  in  many  very  peculiar  and  ridiculous  appellations. 

^Vt  the  mouth  of  the  Lapage  River,  the  stream  later  named 
"John  Day,"  in  memory  of  the  bold  hunter  of  the  Astor  party, 
who  met  such  a  tragic  fate,  the  canoes  were  abandoned,  and  the 
party  proceeded  up  the  Columbia  on  foot,  packing  their  baggage 
upon  the  backs  of  a  few  horses  purchased  from  the  natives.  Cross- 
ing the  Umatilla,  which  they  called  "  You-ma-lolam,"  they  arrived 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Walla  Walla  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  April, 
Yellept,  the  Walla  Walla  chief,  was  a  man  of  unusual  capacit}'  and 
jDower,  and  extended  to  them  the  most  cordial  and  bountiful  hospi- 
tality they  had  enjoyed  since  leaving  the  aln)des  of  civilization. 
How  different  would  have  been  the  reception  extended  them  could 
the  old  chief  have  gazetl  into  the  future  Avith  prophetic  eye,  and 
seen  his  great  successor,  Peo-peo-mux-mux,  killed  while  unjustly  a 
prisoner  by  membere  of  the  same  race  and  tribe  to  Avhich  these 
white  guests  belonged!  It  Is  related  of  Yellej)t  that  in  after  years, 
having  seen  the  last  of  five  noble  sons  perish  in  battle  or  by  the 
hand  of  disease,  he  called  together  the  tribe,  and  throwing  himself 


140 


HIvSTOHY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


upon  the  body  of  his  hist  son,  sternly  hade  them  bury  him  with 

his  dead.     With  loud  lamentations  and  heart-bn»ken  s<»b5  they  did 

as  he  commanded,  and  ])urieil  alive  the  great  chief  they  both  loved 

and  feared.     This  vvaa  the  man  who  e.vtended  hi*  hf»>pitalities  to 

Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  because  of  the  imp«jrtaiit  p:irt  the  Walla 

Wallas  and  Cayuses  played  in  the  after  hLstorj-  of  thi«  region,  the 

following  account  given  ]>y  those  gentlemen  of  their  t-ntertainers  is 

presented.     Their  journal  says: — 

Immediately  upon  our  arrival,  Yellept,  who  proved  to  be  a  man  of  much  influ- 
ence, not  only  in  his  own,  but  in  the  neighboring  nation-^.  coIk«<«d  the  inhabitants 
and,  after  having  made  a  harangue,  the  purport  of  which 'wai>  to  induce  the  nations 
to  treat  us  hospitably,  set  them  an  example,  by  brineini;  hinif>elf  an  amifiil  of  wood 
and  a  platter  containing  three  roastetl  mullets.  They  immediately  a.s!i*-nted  to  one 
part,  at  least,  of  the  recommendation,  by  furnishing  us  with  an  abundance  of  the 
only  sort  of  fuel  they  employ,  the  stems  of  shrubs  growing  in  the  plain>i.  We  then 
purchased  four  dogs,  on  which  we  supped  heartily,  having  been  on  «hcKt  allowance 
for  two  days  past.  When  we  were  disposed  to  sleep,  the  Indiana  retired  imiae- 
diately  on  our  request,  and,  indeed,  uniformly  eondurted  themselves  with  great 
propriety.  These  people  live  on  roots,  which  are  very  abundant  in  the  plains,  and 
catch  a  few  salmon-trout;  but  at  present  they  seem  to  subsist  chiefly  on  a  species  of 
mullet,  weighing  from  one  to  three  pounds.  »  ♦  *  Monday,  twenty-eighth, 
we  purchased  ten  dogs.  While  this  trade  was  carrying  on  by  our  men.  Yellept 
brought  a  line  white  horse  and  presented  him  to  Captain  Clarke,  exprcsifing  at  the 
same  time  a  wish  to  have. a  kettle;  but  on  being  informed  that  we  had  already  dis- 
posed of  the  last  kettle  we  could  spare,  he  said  he  would  Ije  c-ontent  with  any  prej*- 
ent  we  should  make  in  return.  Captain  Clarke,  therefore,  gave  his  sword,  for 
which  the  chief  had  before  expressed  a  desire,  adding  one  hundred  balls,  some  pow- 
der, and  other  small  articles,  with  which  he  appeared  perfectly  satisfied.  We  were 
now  anxious  to  depart,  and  requested  Yellept  to  lend  us  canoes  for  the  purpose  of 
crossing  the  river.  But  he  would  not  listen  to  any  proposal  of  leaving  the  village. 
He  wished  us  to  remain  two  or  three  days;  but  would  not  let  us  go  to-day.  for  he 
had  already  sent  to  invite  his  neighbors,  the  Chininapooe  (Cayuses  ,  to  come  down 
this  evening  and  join  his  people  in  a  dance  for  our  amusement.  We  urged,  in  vain, 
that  by  setting  out  sooner  we  would  the  earlier  return  with  the  articles  they  desired ; 
for  a  day,  he  observed,  would  make  but  little  difference.  We  at  length  mentioned 
that,  as  there  was  no  wind,  it  was  now  the  best  time  to  cross  the  river,  and  would 
merely  take  the  horses  over  and  return  to  sleep  at  their  village.  To  this  he  assented, 
and  then  we  crossed  with  our  horses,  and  having  hobbied  them,  returned  to  their 
camp.  Fortunately  there  was  among  these  WollawoUah*  a  prisoner,  Ix-longing  to 
a  tribe  of  Shoshonee  or  Snake  Indians,  residing  to  the  south  of  the  Multnomah, 
and  visiting  occasionally  the  heads  of  the  WoIlawoUah  creek.  Our  Shoshonee 
woman,  Bucajaweah,  though  she  belonged  to  a  tribe  near  the  Mifeouri,  spoke  the 
same  language  as  this  prisoner,  and  by  their  means  we  were  able  to  explain  our- 
selves to  the  Indians,  and  answer  all  their  inquiries  with  respect  to  ourselves  and 
the  object  of  our  journey.  Our  conversation  inspired  them  with  much  confidence, 
and  they  soon  brought  several  sick  persons  for  whom  they  requested  our  assistance. 
We  splintered  the  broken  arm  of  one,  gave  scoie  relief  to  another,  whose  knee  was 
contracted  by  rheumatism,  and  administered  what  we  thought  beneficial  for  ulcers 
and  eruptions  of  the  skin,  on  various  parts  of  the  body,  which  are  very  conmiou 
disorders  among  them.    But  our  most  valuable  medldne  was  eye-water,  which  we 


OVEKLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THK  PACIFIC. 


141 


distributed,  and  which,  indeed,  they  required  very  much ;  the  complaint  of  the 
eyes,  occasioned  by  living  on  the  water,  and  increased  by  the  Hne  sand  of  the  plains, 
being  now  universal.  A  little  before  sunset,  the  Chimnapoos,  amounting  to  one 
hundred  men  and  a  few  women,  came  to  the  village,  and  joining  the  WoUawollahs, 
who  were  about  the  same  number  of  men,  formed  themselves  in  a  circle  round  our 
tamp,  and  waited  very  patiently  till  our  men  were  disposed  to  dance,  which  they 
did  for  about  an  hour,  to  the  tune  of  the  violin.  They  then  requested  to  see  the 
Indians  dance.  With  this  they  readily  complied,  and  the  whole  assenil)lage, 
amounting,  with  the  women  and  children  of  the  village,  to  several  hundred,  stood 
up,  and  sang  and  danced  at  the  same  time.  The  exercise  was  not,  indeed,  very 
graceful,  for  the  greater  part  of  them  were  formed  into  a  solid  column,  round  a  kind 
of  hollow  square,  stood  on  the  same  place,  and  merely  jumped  up  at  intervals,  to 
keep  time  to  the  music.  Some,  however,  of  the  more  active  warriors  ent«red  tlie 
square  and  danceil  round  it  sidewise,  and  some  of  our  men  joined  in  the  dance,  to 
the  great  satisfaction  of  the  Indians.  The  dance  continuetl  till  ten  o'clock  the  next 
morning.  In  tlie  course  of  the  day  we  gave  small  medals  to  two  inferior  chiefs, 
each  of  whom  made  us  a  present  of  a  tine  horse.  We  were  in  a  |)oor  condition  to 
make  an  aderjuate  acknowledgement  for  this  kindness,  but  gave  several  articles, 
among  which  was  a  pistol,  with  some  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition.  We  have, 
iudeetl,  been  treated  by  these  people  with  an  unusual  degree  of  kindness  and  civility. 
*  *  *  We  may,  indeed,  justly  affirm  that  of  all  the  Indians  whom  we  have 
met  since  leaving  tlie  United  States,  the  WoUawollahs  were  the  most  hospitable, 
honest  and  sincere. 

Bidding  adieu  to  these  hospitable  people,  they  left  the  Colum- 
bia oil  the  twenty-ninth  of  April  and  followed  eastward  what  is 
known  as  the  "  Nez  Perce  Trail."  Tliey  went  up  the  Touchet, 
called  by  them  "  AVhite  Stallion,"  because  of  the  present  Yellept 
had  matle  to  Captain  Clarke,  the  Patet  and  Pataha  and  down  the 
Alpowa  to  Snake  river,  which  they  crossed  and  followed  up  the 
north  side  of  ClearNvater  until  they  reached  the  village  of  Twisted- 
hair,  where  had  been  left  their  horses  the  fall  before.  The  Lolo 
trail  was  not  }et  free  from  snow,  and  for  six  weeks  they  resided 
among  the  Nez  Perces,  a  tribe  closely  ^voven  into  the  history  of 
this  region.  (Jf  them  and  the  intercourse  held  with  them  the  fall 
before,  the  jt)urnal  says: — 

The  Chopunnish,  or  Pierce-nosed,  nation,  wlio  reside  on  the  Kooskooske  an?^ 
Lewis'  Rivers,  are  in  person  stout,  portly,  well-looking  men  ;  the  women  are  small, 
with  good  features,  and  generally  handsome,  though  the  complexion  of  both  sexes 
is  darker  than  that  of  the  Tushepaws.  In  dress  they  resemble  that  nation,  being 
fond  of  displaying  their  ornaments.  The  buffalo  or  elk  skin  robe  decorated  with 
lieads,  sea-shells  (chiefly  mother-of-pearl),  attached  to  an  otter-ekin  collar,  and  hung 
in  the  hair,  which  falls  in  front  in  two  queues ;  feathers,  paint  of  difTerent  kinds 
(principally  white,  green  and  light  blue),  all  of  which  they  find  in  their  own 
countrj' ;  these  are  the  chief  ornaments  they  use.  In  winter  they  wear  a  short  shirt 
of  dres.sed  skins,  long  painted  leggings  and  moccasins,  and  a  plait  of  twisted  grass 
around  tlie  neck.  The  dress  of  the  women  is  more  simple,  consisting  of  a  long  shirt 
of  argaliaor  ibex  skin,  reaching  down  to  the  ankles  without  a  girdle ;  to  this  are 
lied  little  pieces  of  brass  and  sheila,  and  other  small  articles:  but  the  bead  is  not  at 


142 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMKTTK  VALLEY. 


all  ornamented.  The  drens  of  the  female  is,  indeed,  more  modest,  and  more  studi- 
ously HO,  tlian  any  we  have  observed,  though  the  other  sex  is  careless  of  the  inde- 
licacy of  txposure.  Tlie  Chopunnlsli  have  very  few  amusements,  for  their  life  is 
painful  ami  laiiorii.us;  and  all  tlieir  exertions  are  necessary  to  earn  even  their  pre- 
carious suhsistoncc.  During  the  summer  and  autunm  they  are  busily  occupied  in 
tisliing  for  salmon,  undcollectiufr  their  winter  store  of  roots.  In  the  winter  they 
iiunt  the  (leer  on  snow-shoes  over  the  plains,  and  towards  spring  cross  the  moun- 
tains to  the  Missouri,  for  the  i>uri)ose  of  tratfldng  for  buffalo  robes.  The  incon- 
veniences of  that  comfortless  life  are  increased  by  frequent  encounters  with  their 
enj-niies  from  the  west,  who  drive  them  over  the  mountains  with  the  loss  of  their 
horses,  and  sonietimt-s  the  lives  of  nuiny  of  the  nation.  Tliough  originally  the 
same  people,  their  dialect  varies  very  perceptil)ly  from  that  of  the  Tushepaws ; 
their  treatment  of  us  ditl'ereti  much  from  the  liind  and  disinterested  services  of  the 
Slioslionees  (Snalies);  tliey  are  indeed  sclHsh  and  avaricious;  they  part  very  reluc- 
tantly with  every  article  of  footi  or  clotiiing  ;  and  while  they  expect  a  recompense 
for  every  service,  however  small,  do  not  concern  themselves  about  reciprocating 
any  presents  we  may  give  them.  They  are  generally  healthy — the  only  disorders, 
which  we  liave  had  occasion  to  renuirli,  l)eing  of  a  scrofulous  kind,  and  for  these, 
as  well  as  for  the  anuisenient  of  those  who  are  in  good  health,  hot  and  cold  bathing 
is  very  coninionly  used.  'I'he  soil  of  these  prairies  is  of  a  light  yellow  clay,  inter- 
mixed witli  small,  smooth  grass;  it  is  barren,  and  produces  little  more  than  a 
bearded  grass  about  three  inches  high,  and  a  prickly  pear,  of  which  we  now  found 
tiiree  si)ecies. 

It  is  very  evident  that  these  gentlemen  were  not  acquainted  with 
the  atti-ibutes  of  tlie  succulent  bunch  grass,  nor  of  the  soil,  for  those 
prairies  constitute  the  now  celebrated  wheat  lands  of  Eastern  Ore- 
gon and  Washington  and  Northern  Idaho. 

They  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  cross  the  Bitterroot 
Mountains  on  the  fifteenth  of  June,  but  found  the  trails  l^locked 
with  snow.  On  the  thirtieth,  however,  they  safely  crosseti.  On 
the  fourth  of  July  it  was  decided  to  pursue  two  routes  for  a  dis- 
tance; accordingly,  Cai)tain  Lewis,  with  a  portion  of  the  party, 
crossed  the  Rocky  Moinitains  to  the  Missouri,  and  follo\\ed  dow^n 
the  main  stream,  exploring  the  larger  tributaries  and  learning  much 
of  the  geography  of  Montana.  With  the  remainder  of  the  party 
Clarke  crossed  to  the  Yellowstone,  and  descended  that  stream  to 
its  mouth,  uniting  again  with  Captain  Lewis  some  distance  below 
that  point  on  the  twelfth  of  August.  There  stands  to  the  present 
day  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Yellowstone,  between  the  cities  of 
Miles  City  and  Billings,  a  monument  to  commemorate  the  visit  of 
this  expedition.  It  is  known  as  "  Pompey's  Pillar,"  and  consists  of 
a  detached  body  of  yellow  sandstone,  which  rises  alu'uptly  on  three 
sides  to  the  height  of  four  hundred  feet.  On  the  north  side,  at  a 
place  which   can  be  letuihed  by  claudjering  over  the  heavy  blocks 


the 


n 


OVERLAND  JOI'KXKYS  TO  THK  I'AriKIC. 


143 


of  sandstone  Juokeii  down  from  the  IkkIv  of  the  cliff,  in  a  place 
sheltered  from  the  elements  })y  an  overlianirintr  wall  <»f  rock,  the 
leader  carved  his  autogi'a]th;  ami  the  characters.  "  William  Claike, 
July  25,  18()<),"  can  l)e  still  di.-itinctly  trace*!.  When  again  united, 
the  party  continued  their  journey  douTi  the  Missouri,  and  reache<l 
St.  Louis  Septend)('r  '2i),  18(><),  havinir  lieen  al»sent  nearly  two  and 
one-half  years.  ^ 

The  retiu'u  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  \va.s  the  cause  «»f  threat  rejoicinir 
in  the  Unite<l  States.  Mr.  Jefferson  say>:  "Nevci-  did  a  similar 
event  excite  more  joy  throu_irh«>ut  the  Unit«nl  Stat«*s.  The  hiunbiest 
of  its  citizens  had  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the  issue  of  this  journey, 
and  looked  forward  with-  impatience  to  the  information  it  would 
furnish.  Their  anxieties,  too,  for  the  safety  of  the  corps  had  been 
kept  in  a  state  of  e.xcitement  l»y  luirubrious  rnmor<,  circulated  from 
time  to  time  on  uncertain  authoritie?*,  and  uncontradicT> d  l)y  letters, 
or  other  direct  information,  fiom  the  time  they  liad  left  the  Mandan 
towns,  on  their  ascent  up  the  river  in  A]iril  of  the  precediuij;  year, 
•  iSOo,  until  their  actual  return  to  St.  Louis.**  Captain  I^ewis  was, 
soon  after  his  return,  appointed  Governor  of  Louisiana,  with  which 
his  journey  had  rendered  him  more  familiar  than  any  other  man 
except  his  associate;  and  Captain  Clarke  wa.<  apjK>inted  General  of 
Militia  of  the  same  Tei-ritory,  and  agent  for  Indian  affairs  in  that 
viist  region  he  had  explored.  During  a  |>eri^Kl  of  tempoi-ary  mental 
derangement.  Captain  Lewis  died  by  hi.s  own  hand,  in  September, 
ISO'.),  before  he  had  fully  comj)lete<l  his  naiTative  of  the  journey. 
The  history  of  the  expedition  was  preparetl  from  his  manuscript 
under  the  direction  of  Ca])tain  Clarke,  and  waei  first  published  in 
1814.  The  general  details,  however,  were  spread  throughout  the 
coimtry  immediately  upon  their  return.  esjH-cially  on  the  frontier. 
During  their  absence  other  exi)k>riug  parties  were  traversing  Louis- 
iana in  various  directions  in  search  of  information  for  the  govern 
nient.  Lieutenant  Pike  jwcended  the  Mississippi  to  its  headwaters 
in  180."),  and  the  following  year  journeyetl  s(»uthwestward  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri  to  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas,  Red  and 
Rio  Bravo  del  Norte.  At  the  same  time  Dun])ar,  Hunter  and 
Sil)ley  explored  Red  River  and  its  companion  streams.  These 
exploi'ations  served  to  greatly  stimulate  the  fiu-  trade  carried  on 


144 


HToTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


from  St.  Louis  and  IMackinaw,  as  well  as  to  strengthen  the  govern- 
ment in  its  purpose  of  adhering  to  its  right  to  Louisiana. 

When  Great  Britain  received  the  oftici  il  notification  mentioned 
l>y  President  Jefferson  in  his  letter  of  instructions  to  Captain  Lewis, 
which  was  (piickly  followed  by  intelligence  that  the  region  to  which 
it  referred  had  been  ceded  by  France  to  the  United  States,  much 
anxiety  \vas  felt  l)y  the  Government  and  such  of  its  subjects  as  were 
personally  interested  in  the  coimtry  under  consideration.  Espec- 
ially were  the  Northwest  and  Hudson's  Bay  Compaiiies  anxious  for 
the  future  of  their  interests  in  that  region,  more  particularly  the 
ft)rmer,  Avliose  hunters  were  operating  further  south  and  west  than 
those  of  the  rival  company.  The  French  claim  to  Louisiana, 
founded  solely  upon  technical  grounds,  had  not  been  a  st)urce  of 
nuich  uneasiness;  but  now  that  it  had  been  transferred  to  a  nation 
both  able  and  anxious  to  make  an  effort  to  perfect  the  title  by  re- 
ducing the  countiy  to  actual  possession,  the  matter  presented  an  en- 
tirely different  aspect.  Naturally,  the  technical  title  was  not  recog- 
nized in  its  entirety ;  that  is,  there  was  a  vast  region  lying  north  of 
the  forty-second  parallel  and  west  of  the  liocky  Mountains,  known 
a  few  y  r  '"s  later  as  "  Oregon,"  and  embracing  the  watershed  of  the 
CoiuKibia  River,  which  might  be  held  by  the  United  States  unaer 
the  Louisiana  title  and  the  discovery  right  of  Captain  Gray,  pro- 
vided these  claims  were  perfected  by  actual  occupation ;  similar  oc- 
cupation might  entitle  (areat  Britain  to  its  possession  as  a  perfec- 
tion of  her  technical  title,  claimed  by  discovery  through  Captain 
Francis  Drake,  and  'Xploration  by  Captain  Cook,  Captain  Vancou- 
ver and  Alexander  Mackenzie.  Both  nations  having  color  of  title, 
possession  became  the  decisive  issue.  The  Northwest  Company  im- 
media^^'dy  sent  a  i>arty  to  establish  trading  posts  on  the  Columbia, 
under  command  of  a  trusted  agent  naL.^d  Laroque.  He  started  in 
1804,  but  failed  to  progi'ess  farther  than  the  Mandan  coiuitry,  and 
the  Columl)ia  stations  were  not  established,  Shnon  Fraser,  another 
agent  of  the  company,  left  Fort  Chipewyan  in  1805,  and  followed 
the  route  pursued  formerly  by  Mackenzie  until  he  reached  Fraser 
River.  At  Fraser  Lake,  a  few  miles  west  of  the  point  where  the 
river  turns  to  the  southward,  he  estaljlished  a  trading  post,  bestow- 
ing the  name  "  New  Caledonia  "  upon  that  region.  As  the  Fraser 
was  then  considered  identical  with  tlie  Colujn}>ia,  it  was  supposed 


OVERLAND  JOURNEYS  TO  THE  PACIFIC 


145 


that  this  post  was  on  the  great  stream  for  the  possession  of  which 
England  and  America  were  contending.  Though  this  idea  was 
subsequently  learned  to  be  erroneous,  the  fact  remained  true  that 
the  post  was  the  first  establishment  made  by  the  subjects  of  either 
nation  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Americans  were  not  far 
behind,  for  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  was  organized  in  1808,  with 
headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  The  same  year  trading  posts  'svere  es- 
tablished on  the  affluents  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  and  one 
of  the  agents  of  the  company,  named  Henry,  crossed  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  founded  Fort  Henry,  on  the  headwaters  of  Lewis, 
or  Snake,  River,  the  first  American  establishment,  and,  as  it  proved, 
the  first  of  any  kind  on  a  tril)utary  of  the  Columbia.  The  next  was 
made  nearer  the  mouth  of  the  stream  in  1810,  by  an  American  whose 
name  has  been  variously  given  by  superficial  histoiians  as  "  Smith," 
"T.  Winship"  and  "Nathaniel  Winship,"  none  of  which  are  cor- 
rect. Early  in  1809  a  partnership  was  formed  in  Ht)ston  between 
A})iel  Winship,  Jonathan  Winship,  Nathan  Winship,  Benjamin 
P.  Homer  and  a  few  others,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  settle- 
ment on  the  Columbia  as  a  base  of  trading  operaticms,  the  settle- 
ment to  be  a  permanent  one.  With  everything  necessary  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  project,  Nathan  Winship  sailed  in  the  Albatross  in  Jidy, 
William  Smith  being  his  chief  mate.  He  carried  written  instruc- 
tions, by  which  it  appears  that  the  projectors  of  the  enter[)rise  were 
wise  enough  to  believe  that  Indian  character  was  the  same  on  the 
Pacific  as  it  had  been  found  to  be  on  the  Atlantic.  It  was  the  de- 
sign to  buy  the  land  from  the  natives;  to  erect  a  two-story  log 
liouse  with  port-holes  for  cannon  and  loop-holes  for  rifies;  the 
second  story  to  be  the  arsenal  where  all  the  arms  and  annuunition 
were  to  be  stored,  and  to  which  no  Indian  was  to  be  adm!;ced  uptm 
any  consideration,  entrance  to  be  effected  by  means  of  a  ti-a[)  door 
and  laxhler;  agriculture  to  be  carried  on  under  the  guns  of  the  fort, 
which  was  always  to  be  guarded  by  a  sufiicieui  force.  William  A. 
Gale  kept  a  journal,  which  gives  the  details  of  the  ex{)edition. 
When  the  Albatross  reached  the  Sandwich  Islands,  \\'iushi[)  found  a 
letter  there  from  his  l)rothp»'  Jonathan,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
trading  vessel  OCain,  advising  him  to  make  haste,  jis  the  Russians 
had  designs  on  the  Columbia.  It  was  the  twenty-sixth  of  May,  1810, 
that  the  Albatross  entered  the  river  nnd  began  sounding  it  to  locate 


14() 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


^'^t 


tlie  channel,  gradually  ascending  the  stream.  On  the  first  of  June 
Winship  and  Smith  selected  a  point  on  the  south  bank  of  the  stream 
some  forty  miles  above  its  mouth,  which  they  called  "Oak  Point," 
because  they  observed  there  four  oak  trees,  the  first  they  had  seen 
since  entering  the  river.  The  place  now  known  as  "  Oak  Point "  is 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  a  fact  which  has  led  some  writers 
into  the  error  of  stating  that  this  first  American  settlement  on  the 
Columbia  was  made  in  Washington  Territory.  They  at  once  began 
preparations  in  accordance  with  their  plans,  such  as  hewing  logs  for 
the  fort  and  clearing  a  patch  of  tlje  fertile  tract  for  a  garden ;  but 
tliey  were  soon  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  "June  Rise,"  for 
the  annual  freshets  of  that  season  covered  their  building  site  and 
garden  [)atch  to  the  depth  of  several  feet  long  before  they  had  the 
fort  erected.  A  patch  of  higher  gi'ound  five  hundred  yards  further 
down  the  stream  was  selected,  and  the  logs  floated  down  to  it,  but 
as  the  natives  had  begun  to  exhibit  symptoms  of  hostility,  Winship 
decided  to  jd^andon  the  effort.  On  the  seventeenth  of  June  he 
dropped  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  learning  on  the  way  that 
only  his  vigilance  had  pi-evented  the  capture  of  his  vessel  by  the 
('hinooks.  lie  then  sailed  on  a  trading  voyage,  expecting  to  return 
the  next  }'ear  and  found  a  settlement,  but  in  this  he  wtus  forestalled 
by  the  Astor  party.  The  Albatross  had  quite  a  string  of  adven- 
tures before  again  reaching  Boston,  being  seized  once  on  the  Cali- 
fornia coast,  and  once  blockaded  by  British  men  ol  war  at  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  Thus  were  the  first  two  settlements  on  the  river 
made  by  Americans,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  third  and  most 
important  was  also  made  by  them. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ASTORIA  AND  THE  JOINT  OCCUPATION  TREATY. 

The  Pacific  Fur  Trade  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Present  Century — Ameri,- 
cans  in  the  Lead — Their  Plan  of  Operations— Rtissia  Com2>lain8  of 
the  Sale  of  Fire- Arms  to  the  Indians — John  Jacob  Astor^s  Plans— 
The  Pacific  Fur  Company  Organized — Astor''s  Alien  Partners — The 
^^Tonquin^^  Sails  from  New  York — Dissensions  on  the  Voyage — Dan- 
gers of  the  Columbia  Bar-^— Astoria  Founded — Sad  Fate  of  the  '•'■Ton- 
quin  "  and  Her  Crew — Appearance  at  Astoria  of  an  Agent  of  the 
Northwest  Company — Fort  Okinagan— Launch  of  the  "  Dolly  " — 
Sufferings  of  Wilson  Price  Hunfs  Party — Operations  ulong  the 
Columbia — Astoria  Sold  to  the  Northwest  Company — Captured  by 
the  English  and  Named  '■'■Fort  George" — UnsucceK^^nl  Efforts  of 
Mr.  Astor  to  Regain  Possession — Negotiations  und<  <  ■'/"■  Treaty  of 
Ghent — Confidcting  Claims  to  Oregon  Advanced  by  Enyland  and  the 
United  States — Technical  Surrender  of  Fort  George^Joint  Occu- 
pation Agreed  Upon — The  Florida  Treaty. 


DURING  the  first  ten  years  of  the  present  century,  Anierieann 
took  the  lead  in  the  fishing  and  fur  trade  of  the  Pacific,  thougli 
the  vessels  of  other  nations  were  not  an  unfrequent  sight  to  the 
waters  of  our  coast.  The  reasons  for  this  were  simple.  Russians 
did  not  enjoy  the  privilege  of  entering  the  few  Chinese  ports  open 
to  the  commerce  of  more  favored  nations,  and  therefore  did  their 
trading  by  land  fi'om  Kamtchatka,  as  previously  descril)ed;  the 
English  independent  traders  were  excluded  from  the  Pacific  l)y  the 
monopoly  grants  of  the  East  India  Company  and  South  Sea  Cora-  v. 
pany.  Naturally  this  usurpation  of  the  fur  trade  by  Americans 
was  distasteful  to  rival  nations,  and  especially  to  the  English,  who 
did  not  then,  and,  in  fact,  seldom  do  now,  recognize  the  enterprise 
and  commercial  spirit  of  the  "Yankees"  as  commendable,  or  admit 


\ 


148 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


tlieir  superioj-ity,  or  even  e(iiiality,  in  anything.  Though  often  the 
i'('|)ivsentiitives  of  wealthy  and  long-established  business  houses, 
tliese  traders  were  cla^^sed  l)y  them  as  "adventurers,"  and  very 
slightingly  spoken  of,  while  their  skill  as  navigators  and  judgment 
as  traders  were  not  recognized  as  deserving  of  praise.  Archibald 
Campbell  gives  the  following  contemptuous  review  of  the  "Yan- 
kee" method  of  conducting  the  fur  trade: — 

Thesi'  jKjveuturers  set  out  on  the  voyage  with  a  few  trinkets  of  very  little  value. 
Ill  tlie  Southern  Pacific,  they  pick  up  a  few  seal  skins,  and  perhaps  a  few  butts  of 
oil;  at  the  Gallipagos,  they  lay  in  turtle,  of  which  they  preserve  the  shells;  at  Val- 
paraiso, they  raise  a  few  dollars  in  exchange  foi'  European  articles ;  at  Nootka,  and 
other  parts  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  they  tratHc  with  the  natives  for  furs,  which,  when 
winter  coninieiKies,  they  carry  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  to  dry  and  preserve  from 
vermin ;  iiere  they  leave  their  own  people  to  take  care  of  them,  and,  in  the  spring, 
embark,  in  lieu,  tlie  natives  of  the  islands,  to  assist  in  navigating  to  the  Northwest 
Coast  in  search  of  more  skins.  The  remainder  of  the  cargo  is  then  made  up  of 
sandal,  which  grows  abundantly  in  the  woods  of  Atooi  and  Owyhee  (Hawaii),  of 
tortoise  shells,  shark's  fins,  and  pearls  of  an  inferior  kind,  all  of  which  are  accept- 
able in  the  Chinese  market ;  and  with  these  and  their  dollars  they  purchase  cargoes 
of  teas,  silks  and  nankins,  and  thus  complete  their  voyage  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  years. 

With  the  exception  of  the  assertion  that  their  outward  cargo 
consisted  solely  of  a  "few  trinkets,"  this  may  be  called  a  correct 
statement  of  the  Yankee  method,  and,  so  far  from  proving  them  to 
liave  been  mere  adventurers,  shows  that  their  v^oyages  were  con- 
ducted ^vith  a  clear  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  Chinese  trade  and  the 
only  successfid  method  of  conducting  it.  Htid  the  traders  of  rival 
nations  shown  the  same  good  judgment  and  managed  their  enter- 
prises in  the  same  systematic  manner,  they  would  liuve  met  with  a 
greater  measure  of  success.  The  vessels  were  geiieially  large  ones, 
disjiatched  l)y  wealthy  merchants,  and  besides  the  trinkets,  carried 
valuable  cargoes  of  English  and  American  manufactured  goods, 
with  which  they  supplied  the  Russian  and  Spanish  settlements  on 
the  Coast.  The  Russians  in  particular  were  dependent  upon  the 
American  traders  for  ammunition,  sugar,  spirits,  and  manufactured 
articles  generally.  The  "trinkets"  sj)oken  of  were  used  in  the 
Indian  trade,  as  has  been  the  custom  from  time  immemorial  with 
civilized  nations  in  their  dealincrs  with  inferior  races.  C'oiumer- 
cially  of  little  value,  they  were  highly  prized  l)y  the  natives,  who 
would  give  for  them  more  furs  than  they  would  offer  for  some  object 
worth  Um  times  the  amount,  but  which  did  not  strike  their  fancy, 


ASTORIA  AND  THE  JOINT  OCCUPATION  TKKATV. 


149 


or  was  of  no  use  to  them  iu  their  maimer  of  living.  This  method 
of  trading  with  the  Indians  was  practiced  as  much  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  and  Northwest  Company  as  by  the  Americans;  nor 
was  it  confined  to  English-speaking  nations,  for  the  Russians  also 
i)artered  beads  and  cheap  ornaments  for  valuable  furs.  Such  arti- 
cles have  always  been  considered  a  "  valuable  considei'ation "  by 
ev'ery  nation  in  dealing  with  uncivilized  races. 

Certain  of  these  traders  were  guilty  of  improper  and  impolitic 
conduct,  however,  and  this  was  the  chief  cause  of  bringing  them 
into  disrepute.  Tliey  used  whisky  and  fire-arms  as  articles  of  mer- 
chandise, reaping  present  profit,  but  sowing  the  seeds  of  decay  which 
have  swept  away  the  native  iniiabitants  of  the  Coast  likes  flies  by 
an  October  frost.  It  would,  at  the  first  glance,  seem  that  the  pos- 
session of  fire-arms  by  the  Indians  would  enable  them  to  hunt  more 
successfully,  and  thus,  by  rendering  the  supply  of  furs  more  abun- 
dant, add  to  the  profit  of  the  traders;  but  there  was  another  face  to 
the  matter.  Irving  says:  "  In  this  way  several  fierce  tribes  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Russian  posts,  or  within  range  of  their  trading  excur- 
sions, were  furnished  with  deadly  means  of  warfare,  and  rendered 
troul)lesome  and  dangerous  neigh]>ors.'"  The  Russians  were  ex- 
tieinely  harsh  and  illiberal  in  their  dealings  with  the  aborigines, 
winning  their  hostility  instead  of  good  will,  and  they  naturally 
objected  to  the  placing  of  the  defrauded  tribes  on  an  equality  M'ith 
themselves  in  the  matter  of  weapons  of  war.  Complaint  was  made 
by  the  Russian  Government  to  the  State  Department;  but  as  the 
American  tradeis  were  violating  no  law  or  treaty,  the  Gt)veriiment 
could  not  interfere  directly.  It  did,  however,  use  its  influence  to 
effect  a  remedy.  John  Jacob  Astor  was  then  the  central  figure  of 
the  American  fur  trade,  being  engaged  extensively  in  that  business 
in  the  region  of  the  great  lakes  and  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  was  the  leading  merchant  of  New  York  City.  His  attenti(m 
was  called  to  the  matter  and  he  soon  devised  an  effectual  remedy. 
His  idea  was  to  concentrate  the  trade  in  tiie  hands  of  a  company 
which  would  conduct  it  properly,  and  one  of  the  means  of  doing 
this  was  to  supply  the  Russian  posts  by  contract,  and  thus  cut  off 
one  of  the  most  profitable  elements  of  the  Pacific  tra(h'  from  the 
independent  traders.  His  plan  was  to  establish  a  permanent  post 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  which  would  be  the  headquarters  for 


150 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMKTTE  VALLEY. 


a  large  trade  with  the  interior  and  along  the  coast,  and  to  supply 
this  post  and  the  Russian  settlements  by  means  of  a  vessel  sent  an- 
nually from  New  York,  which  should  also  convey  the  fui-s  to  China 
and  take  home  from  there  a  cargo  of  silk,  tea,  etc.  The  independ- 
ent traders  would  thus  ]»e  superseded  by  a  company  which  would 
estal)lish  posts  aloui;  the  Columl)ia,  a  tiling  earnestlv  desireil  bv  the 
Government,  and  the  cause  of  iiritation  to  Russia  would  l>e  removeil. 
The  scheme  was  heartily  endorsed  by  the  President  and  Cabinet. 
As  has  been  shown.  President  Jefferson  had  been  for  veal's  a  warm 
advocate  of  American  supremacy  along  the  Columbia,  and  in  a  let- 
ter written  to  ^Ir.  Astt)r  in  later  years,  said  of  his  i>pinion  at  that 
time:  ''I  considered,  jis  a  great  public  accpiisition,  tlie  commence- 
ment of  a  settlement  in  that  part  of  the  western  coiist  of  America, 
and  lookeil  for\\  anl  with  gratification  to  the  time  ^^"hen  its  descend- 
ants had  spread  themselves  through  the  whole  length  of  the  coast, 
covering  it  \\"ith  fi-ee  and  independent  Americans,  unconnected  with 
us  but  by  the  ties  of  ]>lood  and  interest,  and  enjoying  like  us  the 
lights  of  self-government."  How  vastly  grander  is  the  actual  than 
even  this  graml  conception  of  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen  America 
has  produciHl! 

Mr.  Astor  organized  the  Pacific  Fur  C()m[)auy,  himself  supply- 
ing the  capital  and  owning  a  half  interest.  To  manage  operati«nis 
in  the  field,  he  selectetl  competent  men  of  much  experience  in  the 
fur  tra«le,  and  ti»  bin«l  them  to  his  interests  he  gave  them  the  other 
half  share  in  tlie  enterprise,  divided  in  ecpial  proportiims.  Wisdom 
and  prudence  marked  every  step  taken,  with  the  exceptiiui  of  the 
selection  of  partnei"s.  Among  these  were  several  men  who  had 
formerly  l>elonge«l  to,  or  were  employetl  by,  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany. They  were  of  alien  1)irth  and  sympathies.  A\1ien  they 
united  with  Mr.  Astor  it  was  simply  as  a  commercial  venture,  by 
which  they  hin>e<l  to  better  themselves  financially.  His  purpose  of 
founding  an  American  settlement  on  the  Columbia,  so  that  tlie 
.  Unitetl  States  miirlit  dominate  this  region,  wjis  not  in  harmonv  with 
their  national  sentiments.  They  were  British  in  thought  and  sym- 
pathy, even  as  partnei*s  in  an  American  enterprise,  and  could  not 
be  relieil  upon  to  support  the  interests  of  the  United  States  when 
they  came  in  conflict  in  the  disputed  territory  with  those  of  Great 
Britain,  as  represented  by  the  great  company  in  which  they  had 


ASTOKIA  AND  THE  JOINT  OCCUPATION   TKKATY. 


151 


received  their  training  and  to  which  they  were  attached  by  the 
strongest  ties  wliich  time  and  association  can  weave.  In  an  enter- 
prise so  pinvly  American  and  of  such  deep  political  significance, 
Washington's  injunction  to  "  Put  none  but  Americans  on  guard" 
should  have  been  wisely  heeded ;  and  the  failure  so  to  do  was  most 
disastrous  in  its  consequences.  These  men  were  Alexander  jMcKay 
(father  of  the  well  known  Tom.  McKay  and  grandfather  of  Dr. 
William  C.  McKay,  of  Pendleton,  On-gonj,  who  had  accompanied 
Mackenzie  on  both  of  his  great  journeys,  Duncan  McDougal,  David 
and  llobert  Stuai't,  and  Donald  McKenzie.  So  far  from  undertak- 
ing to  Americanize  themselves,  these  gentlemen  took  the  precaution 
}»efore  leaving  Cana<la  to  provide  themselves  with  proofs  of  their 
British  citizenshi)),  to  be  used  for  their  protection  in  case  of  future 
difficulties  Itetween  the  two  nations.  Had  this  l»een  known  to  Mr. 
^Vstor  it  would  doubtless  have  put  a  suilden  termiuation  to  their 
ccmnection  with  the  enterpi'ise.  Only  one  American,  Wilson  Price 
Hunt,  of  New  Jersey,  was  an  interested  partner  from  tlie  first,  and 
to  him  wa.s  entrusted  the  management  of.  the  enterprise  on  the 
Pacific  Coast. 

The  first  movement  was  made  on  the  second  of  August,  1810, 
when  the  shi[)  Touquin  sailed  from  New  York  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Cohunbia,  commanded  by  Captain  Jonatiian  Thorn,  a  Lieuten- 
ant of  the  United  States  Navy,  on  leave  of  absence.  She  mounted 
ten  guns,  had  a  crew  of  twenty  men,  and  carried  a  large  cargo  of 
supplies  for  the  company,  and  merchandise  for  trading  with  the 
natives,  as  well  a.s  imi)lements  and  seeds  for  cultivating  the  soil, 
and  the  fame  of  a  small  schooner  for  use  in  trading  along  the  coast. 
Slie  carried,  ius  passengers,  McKay,  McDougal,  the  two  Stuarts, 
twelve  clerks  (among  them  Tom  McKay),  several  artisans,  and 
thii'teen  Canadian  voyageurs.  The  voyage  was  uneventful,  except 
as  regards  the  dissensions  that  arosi'  l»etw"en  the  Americ-m  Captain 
and  the  Scotch  partners.  Captain  Thorn  was  a  strict  disciplinarian. 
He  possessed  great  respect  for  himself  as  an  officei'  of  the  Ameri- 
can Navy,. and  had  iidierited  from  Kevolutionary  sires  a  lasting 
('(mtempt  foi*  "  Hiitisheis."  He  considered  the  authority  (tf  a  com- 
mander on  the  deck  of  his  vessel  as  supreme,  even  to  the  ])oint  of 
autocracy,  and  he  made  the  Scotchmen  understand  this  idea  the  fii'st 
time  they  undertook  to  exercise  any  of  the  authority  they  conceived 


13-2 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


themselves  to  be  pu!?*t*ssed  of  as  ptirtuei's  in  the  company.  He 
infonneil  them  that  when  they  were  on  shore  they  could  do  as  they 
pleasetl,  but  when  they  were  on  board  of  his  vessel  they  must  do  as 
he  pleaseil  ov  l>e  put  in  irons.  He  held  himself  responsible  in  hi< 
manai^ement  of  the  Touquin  solely  to  Mr.  Astoi-,  fi-om  whom  he  had 
receive<l  liis  instnictions,  and  would  l)rook  no  intei-ference  what- 
ever from  the  lesser  partners,  whom  he  considered  as  simply  [«.<- 
sengei"s.  It  may  well  be  imagined  that  »vhen  the  ship  reached 
the  Columbia  Bar,  on  the  twenty-second  of  the  follomng  March. 
after  a  voyage  of  nearly  eight  months,  the  snu))be<l  partners  were 
delighted  at  the  prospect  of  soon  setting  foot  on  shore,  where  they 
could  exercise  a  little  of  that  authority  which  had  l>eeu  so  com- 
l^letely  V^ottleil  up:  while  Captain  Thorn  was  ecpially  i)les»seil  to  be 
rid  of  his  passengeis,  who  had  been  a  continual  source  of  annoy- 
ance during  the  voyage. 

A\'hen  the  Tonquiti  arrived  off  the  bar  the  weather  was  stormy 
and  the  breakei-s  rolleil  hi^h.  He  feared  to  take  his  vessel  acros* 
an  unkninvn  l»ar  in  such  a  rough  sea.  This  fear  was  not  a  j^ersonal 
one,  for  he  was  as  Ijrave  as  he  was  headstrong,  but  wjts  s<jlely  in 
reference  to  the  sjifety  of  his  vessel,  to  secure  which  he  would  have 
forfeited  his  own  life  and  those  of  his  entire  crew,  had  it  l>een  nee- 
easary  to  do  so.  He  accordingly  ordered  Mr.  Fox,  the  tirst  mate, 
to  take  a  whale  lK)at,  with  a  crew  of  one  seaman  and  three  Cana- 
dians, and  explore  the  channel.  Although  it  Wfts  almost  certain 
death  to  make  the  attempt,  Mr.  Fox  expressed  a  willingness  to 
undertake  it  if  he  were  prt)vided  with  a  crew  of  seamen  instead  of 
the  gi-een  Canadians;  but  the  willful  captain  insisted  upon  the  exe- 
cution of  his  order  as  originally  given.  The  surging  billows  soon 
ensrulfeii  the  ]x>at  and  its  Ijrave  crew,  and  thev  were  seen  no  more. 
The  next  day  another  boat  was  sent  on  the  same  eiTand,  and  was 
swept  out  to  sea  by  tlie  tide  and  cun'ent,  and  only  one  of  its  occu- 
pants finally  reachetl  land  in  safety.  Just  as  darkness  chwed  down 
upon  the  scene,  on  the  second  day,  the  Tonquin  succeetleil  in  cross- 
ing, and  auchoretl  just  within  the  bar,  where  the  wind  and  ebbing 
tide  threateuetl  to  s^veep  her  fi"om  her  precarious  hohl  ujxin  the 
sands  and  swamp  her  amid  the  rolling  breakers.  The  night  was  an 
anxious  and  distressful  one.  IrNnug  says:  "  The  wind  whistled,  the 
sea  roared,  the  gk»om  was  only  broken  by  the  ghastly  glare  of  the 


ASTORIA  AND  THE  JOINT  OCCUPATION  TREATY. 


153 


foaming  breakers,  the  minds  of  the  seamen  were  full  of  dreary 
apprehensit)ns,  and  some  of  them  fancied  they  heard  the  cries  of 
their  lost  comrades  mingling  with  the  uproar  of  the  elements."  In 
the  morning  the  Tonquiti  passed  safely  in  and  came  to  anchor  iu  a 
gopd  harbor. 

On  the  twelfth  of  April  the  partnei"s  began  the  erection  of  a  fort 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  <m  a  ])oint  which  Lieutenant  Brough- 
t<»n  had  named  "  Point  (reorge."  This  was  christeuetl  "Astoria," 
in  honor  of  the  founder  and  chief  promoter  of  the  enterprise,  a 
name  now  borne  by  a  thriving  commercial  city,  which  marks  the 
spot  where  America  first  planted  her  foot  squarely  upon  the  dis- 
puted territory  of  Oregon.  After  much  delay  and  continued  wrang- 
ling over  their  respective  authority,  a  store-house  was  built  and  the 
supplies  landed;  and  on  the  fifth  of  June,  ]»efore  the  fort  was  com- 
}>leted,  Caj»tain  Thorn  sailed  northward  to  engage  in  trade  with  the 
Indians,  and  to  open  that  friendly  connnunication  with  the  Russian 
settlements  which  formed  such  an  important  featui'e  of  Mr.  Astor's 
[)lan.  AVith  him  went  Alexander  McKay,  the  only  partner  who 
had  possessed  the  good  sense  to  refi'ain  fi"om  ^^■rangling  with  the 
irascil)le  ca})tain. 

He  came  to  anchor  in  one  of  the  harbore  on  the  west  coast  of 
Vancouver  Island,  and  Mr.  McKay  went  ashore.  During  his  ab- 
sence the  vessel  wjis  suri'oundetl  by  a  host  of  savages  in  their  ca- 
noes, who  soon  swarmed  upon  the  decks.  They  were  eager  to  trade, 
but  had  eN^dently  had  consideral)le  experience  in  dealing  with  the 
whites  and  were  well  posted  upon  the  value  of  their  furs,  for  they 
resolutely  demanded  a  higher  price  than  Captain  Thorn  was  will- 
ing to  pay.  Provoked  beyond  measure  at  their  stubbornness,  Thorn 
refused  to  deal  with  them,  whereupon  they  became  exceedingly  inso- 
lent. The  Captain  at  bust  completely  lost  his  temper,  and  seizing 
the  old  chief,  Nookamis,  who  was  following  him  about  and  taunting 
him  \vith  his  stinginess,  rubbed  in  his  face  an  otter  skin  he  had 
been  endeavoring  to  sell.  He  then  t»rdere(.l  the  \vhole  l)and  to  leave 
the  ship,  and  added  })lo\\'8  to  enforce  his  command.  The  tragic 
ending  of  this  adventure  is  thus  related  by  Irving: — 

When  Mr.  McKay  returned  on  Iward,  the  interpreter  related  what  had  passed, 
and  begged  him  to  prevail  upon  the  Captain  to  make  sail,  as,  from  his  knowledge 
of  the  temper  and  pride  of  the  people  of  the  place,  he  was  sure  they  would  resent 
the  indignity  ofl'ered  to  one  of  their  chie&.    Mr.  McKay,  who  himself  posseesed 


154 


HISTOKY  OP  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


some  experience  of  Indian  ebaraeter,  went  to  the  Captain,  who  wag  «till  pacing  the 
decl(  in  moody  humor,  represented  ttie  danger  to  which  bi^  ha^y  act  had  expoised 
the  veasel,  and  urged  upon  him  to  weigh  anclior.  The  Captain  made  light  of  his 
counsels,  and  pointed  to  his  cannon  and  tire-unus  as  a  sufiic-it-nt  saf«:^iiard  again^ 
nailed  savages.  Further  remonstrance  only  provoked  taunting  replies  and  sharp 
altercations.  The  day  passed  awav  without  any  signs  of  hostility,  and  at  night  the 
Captain  retired,  as  usual,  to  his  cabin,  taking  no  more  than  u^ual  prev-aution?.  On 
the  following  morning,  at  daybreak,  while  tht-  Captain  and  Mr.  McKay  were  yet 
asleep,  a  canoe  came  alongside  in  which  were  twenty  Indians,  conmianded  by 
young  Shewish.  They  were  unarmetl,  their  as|>«ct  and  demeanor  friendly,  and 
they  held  up  otter  skins,  and  made  signs  indicative  of  a  wish  to  trade.  The  caution 
enjoined  by  Mr.  Astor  in  resj)ect  to  tlie  admisttion  of  Indians  on  l;«fttr«I  of  the 
sliip,  liad  been  neglected  for  some  time  past,  and  the  offi«jer  of  the  watch,  perceiv- 
ing tliose  in  the  canoes  to  be  wilhout  weapons,  and  havins  received  no  orders  to 
tlie  contrary,  readily  permitted  them  to  mount  the  dei-k.  Another  can*<e  $oon  suc- 
ceeded, the  crew  of  which  was  likewise  admitted.  In  a  little  while  "ther  canoes 
came  off,  and  Indians  were  soon  clambering  into  the  vesisel  on  all  ^d««>. 

The  officer  of  the  watch  now  felt  alarmeil.  and  called  to  Captain  Thorn  and  Mr. 
McKay.  By  the  time  tliey  came  on  de<'k,  it  was  thronged  with  Indians-  The 
interpreter  noticed  to  Mr.  McKay  that  many  of  the  natives  wore  short  mantles  of 
skins,  and  intimated  a  suspicion  that  they  were  secretly  armed.  Mr.  McKay 
urged  the  Captain  to  clear  the  sliip  and  get  under  way.  He  again  made  light  of 
the  advice ;  but  the  augmented  swarn)  of  canoc!*  about  the  ship,  and  the  numhters 
still  putting  off  from  the  shore,  at  length  awakened  hi*  distrust,  and  he  ordered 
some  of  the  crew  to  weigli  anchor,  while  some  were  sent  aloft  to  make  saiL  The 
Indians  now  offered  to  trade  with  the  Captain  on  his  own  terms,  prompted, 
apparently,  by  the  approaching  departure  of  the  ship.  Accordinidy.  a  hurried 
trade  was  commenced.  Tlie  main  articles  sought  by  the  savages  in  liarter.  were 
knives;  us  fast  as  some  were  sui)plied  they  moved  off  and  others  su'TC-eeded.  By 
degrees  they  were  thus  distriluited  about  the  deck,  and  all  with  weapons.  The  an- 
clior was  now  nearly  up,  the  sails  were  loose,  and  the  Captain,  in  a  load  and  pre- 
emptory  tone,  ordered  the  ship  to  be  cleared.  In  an  instant  a  -iznal  yell  was  given; 
it  was  echoed  on  every  side,  knives  and  war  clubi*  were  brandished  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  the  savages  rushed  upon  their  marked  victims. 

The  first  that  fell  was  Mr.  Lewis,  the  ship's  clerk.  He  was  leaning,  with  folded 
arms,  over  a  bale  of  blankets,  engaged  in  bargaining,  when  he  re«-ive"l  a  deadly 
stab  in  the  back,  and  fell  down  the  companionway.  Mr.  McKay,  who  was  seated  on 
the  taffrail,  sprang  to  his  feet,  but  was  instantly  knocked  down  with  a  war-club 
and  flung  backwards  into  the  sea,  where  he  was  dispatched  by  the  women  in  the 
canoes.  In  the  meantime,  Captain  Thorn  made  desyierate  fight  asainsi  fearful 
odds.  He  was  a  powerful  as  well  as  resolute  man.  but  he  came  ufion  dwk  with'Kit 
weapons.  SLewish,  the  young  chief,  singled  him  out  a*  hi*  peculiar  prey,  and 
rushed  upon  him  at  the  first  outbreak.  The  Captain  had  barely  time  to  draw  a 
clasji-knife,  with  one  blow  of  which  he  laid  the  young  savaee  dead  at  hi*  feet.  Sev- 
eral of  the  stoutest  followers  of  Shewish  now  set  ufwm  him.  He  defende«l  himself 
vigorously,  dealing  crippling  blows  to  right  and  left,  and  strewing  the  quarterdeck 
with  the  slain  and  wounded.  His  object  was  to  fight  hi*  way  to  the  cabin,  where 
there  were  fire-arms ;  but  he  was  hemmed  in  with  foes,  covered  with  wounds,  and 
faint  with  loss  of  blood.  For  an  instant  he  leaned  upon  the  tiller  wheel,  when  a 
blow  from  behind,  with  a  war-club,  felled  him  to  the  deck,  where  he  was  dis- 
patched with  knives  and  thrown  overboard. 

While  this  was  transacting  upon  the  quarterdeck,  a  chance  medlev-  was  going 
on  throughout  the  ship.     The  crew  fought  desperately  with  knives,  handspikes 


ASTORIA   AND  THE  JOINT  OCCUPATION  TKEATY. 


155 


and  whatever  wi>a|)on8  they  aiuM  seize  upon  in  the  nionu-nt  of  surprise.  They 
were  soon,  however,  overpowered  by  numbers  and  niercileHS'ly  butchered.  As  to 
the  seven  who  had  been  sent  aloft  to  nuilie  sail,  they  conteniidated  with  liorror  the 
carnage  that  was  going  on  below.  Being  destitute  of  weaiK)ns,  they  let  theinselvt-s 
down  by  the  running  rigging,  In  hopes  of  getting  between  declvs.  One  fell  in  the 
attempt,  and  was  instantly  dispatched ;  another  receivetl  a  death-blow  in  the  liack 
as  he  was  descending;  a  third,  Stephen  Weeks,  the  armorer,  wjis  mortally  wounded 
as  he  was  getting  down  the  hatchway.  The  remaining  four  made  ^ood  their  re- 
treat into  the  cabin,  where  they  found  Mr.  L^'wis  still  alive,  tliough  mortally 
wonncled.  Barricading  the  cabin  door,  they  l)roke  holes  through  the  companion- 
way,  and,  with  muskets  and  ammunition  which  were  at  liand.  opened  a  i)risk  fire 
that  soon  cleared  the  tleck.  Thus  far  the  Indian  interpreter,  from  whom  these 
particulars  are  derived,  had  been  an  eye-witness  of  the  deadly  cimllict.  He  had 
taken  no  part  in  it  and  had  been  spared  by  the  natives  as  l»eing  of  their  race.  In 
the  confusion  of  the  moment  he  took  refuge  with  the  ri-st,  in  the  canoes.  The  sur- 
vivors of  the  crew  now  sallied  forth  and  dis"harged  some  of  the  deck  guns,  wliich 
did  great  execution  among  the  canoes  and  drove  all  the  savages  to  shore- 

For  the  remainder  <)f  the  day  no  one  ventured  to  put  ott'to  the  ship,  deterred  by 
the  eflects  of  the  tire-arms.  The  night  passed  away  without  any  further  attempt  on 
the  part  of  the  natives.  When  day  dawned  the  7oiif/uin  still  lay  at  anchor  in  the 
bay,  her  sails  all  loose  and  flapping  in  the  wind,  an<l  no  one  apparently  on  board  of 
her.  After  a  time,  some  of  the  canoes  ventured  forth  to  reconnoitre,  taking  with 
them  the  interpreter.  They  paddled  about  her,  keeping  cautiously  at  a  distance, 
but  growing  more  and  more  emboldened  at  seeing  her  <iuiet  anil  lifeless.  One  man 
at  length  made  his  appearance  cm  the  deck  and  was  recognized  by  tlie  interi)reti'r 
as  Mr.  Lewis.  He  made  friendly  signs  and  invited  tiiem  on  boaril.  It  was  long 
before  thej-  ventured  to  comply.  Those  who  mounted  the  deck  met  witli  no  ojtpo- 
sition  ;  no  one  wiw  to  be  seen  on  board,  for  Mr.  Lewis,  after  inviting  tliem,  haddis- 
api>eared.  Other  canoes  now  pressed  forward  to  boanl  the  prize;  the  <lecks  were 
soon  crowdetl  and  tlie  sides  covered  witli  clambering  savages,  ail  intent  on  plunder. 
In  tlie  midst  of  their  eagerness  and  exultation,  the  shij)  blew  up  with  a  tremendous 
explosion.  Arms,  legs  and  mutilated  bodies  were  blown  into  the  air,  and  dreadful 
hav(K;  was  made  in  the  surrounding  amoes.  The  interpreter  was  in  the  nuun 
chains  at  the  time  of  the  explosion,  and  was  thrown  unhurt  into  the  water,  where 
he  succeeded  in  getting  into  one  of  thj  canoes.  xVccording  to  his  statenunt  the  bay 
presented  an  awful  spectacle  after  the  catastrophe.  The  ship  had  disajjpeared,  but 
the  bay  was  covered  with  fragments  of  the  wreck,  with  shattere<l  canoes,  and 
Indians  swimming  for  their  lives  or  struggling  in  the  agonies  of  death  ;  while  those 
who  had  escaped  the  danger  remained  aghiist  and  stupitied,  or  made  witli  frantic 
panic  for  the  shore.  I'pwards  of  a  hundred  savages  were  destroycl  liy  the  explo- 
sion, many  more  were  shockingly  mutilated,  and  for  days  afterwards  the  lind)s  and 
bijdies  of  the  slain  were  thrown  ujion  the  beach. 

The  inhabitants  of  Neweetee  were  overwhelmeil  with  consternation  at  this 
a.«tounding  calamity  which  had  burst  upon  them  in  the  very  moment  of  triumph. 
The  warriors  sat  mute  and  mournful,  while  the  women  filled  the  air  with  loud  lam- 
entations. Their  weeping  and  wailing,  however,  was  suddenly  clianged  into  yells 
of  fury  at  the  sight  of  four  unfortunate  white  men  brought  captive  into  the  village. 
They  had  been  driven  on  shore  in  one  of  the  ship's  boat.s,  ami  taken  at  some  dis- 
tance along  the  coast.  The  interpreter  was  jyermitted  to  converse  with  them.  They 
proved  to  be  the  four  brave  fellows  who  had  made  such  desperate  defense  from  the 
cabin.  The  interpreter  gathered  from  them  some  of  the  particulars  already  related. 
They  told  him  further  that,  after  they  had  beat«n  ofT  the  enemy,  and  cleared 
the  ship,  Lewis  advised  that  they  should  slip  the  cable  and  endeavor  to  get  to  sea. 


156 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


They  declined  to  take  his  advice,  alleging  that  the  wind  uet  too  strongly  into  the 
bay,  and  would  drive  them  on  shore.  They  resolved,  as  soon  as  it  was  dark,  to  put 
oft'  quietly  in  the  ship's  boat,  which  they  would  be  able  to  do  unperceived,  and  to 
coast  along  back  to  Astoria.  They  put  their  resolution  into  effect ;  but  Lewis  re- 
fused to  accompany  them,  being  disabled  by  his  wound,  hopeless  of  escape  and 
determined  on  a  terrible  revenge.  On  the  voyage  out  he  had  freciucntiy  expressed 
a  presentiment  that  he  should  die  l)y  iiis  own  hands— thinking  it  highly  probable 
that  he  should  be  engaged  in  some  contests  with  tlie  nati"es,  and  being  resolved.  In 
case  of  extremity,  to  commit  suicide  rather  than  i)e  made  a  prisoner.  He  now  de- 
clared his  intention  to  remain  on  the  ship  until  daylight,  lo  decoy  as  many  of  the 
savages  on  board  as  possible,  then  to  set  tire  to  the  powder  magazine  and  terminate 
his  life  by  a  single  act  of  vengeance.  How  well  he  succeeded  has  been  shown. 
His  companions  bade  him  a  melancholy  adieu  and  set  off  ou  their  precarious  expe- 
dition. They  strove  with  might  and  main  to  got  out  of  the  buy,  but  found  it  im- 
possible to  weather  a  point  of  land,  and  were  at  length  compelled  to  take  shelter 
in  a  small  cove,  where  they  hoped  to  remain  concealed  until  the  wind  should  Ik; 
more  favorable.  Exhausted  by  fatigue  and  watching,  they  fell  into  a  sound  sleep, 
and  in  that  state  were  surprised  by  the  savages.  Better  had  it  been  for  those  un- 
fortunate men  had  they  remained  wltii  Lewis  and  shared  his  heroic  death ;  as  it 
was,  they  perished  in  a  more  painful  and  i)rotracted  manner,  being  sacrificed  by 
the  natives  to  the  manes  of  their  friends  with  all  the  lingering  tortures  of  savage 
cruelty.  Some  time  after  their  death  the  Interpreter,  who  had  remained  a  kind  of 
prisoner  at  large,  eft'ected  his  escape  and  brought  the  tragical  tidings  to  Astoria. 

While  this  sad  tragedy  was  being  enacted,  affairs  progressed 
rapidly  at  Astoria.  The  fort  was  comjileted  and  everything  was 
placed  in  readiness  for  an  opening  of  the  expected  large  trade  with 
the  natives  of  the  Colinnl)ia.  On  the  fifteenth  of  July  a  canoe, 
manned  by  nine  white  men,  was  observed  descending  the  river,  and 
when  they  landed  at  the  fort  they  were  found  to  be  a  party  of  em- 
ployees of  the  powerful  Northwest  Company,  headed  by  David 
Thompson,  a  partner  in  that  great  organization.  lie  had  been  dis- 
patched from  Montreal  the  year  before,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
possession  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  before  the  Astor  party 
should  arrive.  He  had  experienced  much  liardship,  disappointment 
and  delay;  had  been  deserted  by  nearly  all  his  party,  and  no^v,  with 
but  a  few  faithful  ones,  he  arrived  too  late  to  accomplish  his  mis- 
sion. The  Americans  were  in  possession.  The  Northwest  Com- 
pany held  a  warm  place  in  McDougal's  heart,  and  as  that  gentle- 
man was  in  charge  at  Astt)ria,  Thompson  received  a  cordial  wel- 
come, and  was  bountifully  supplied  with  provisions  and  necessaries 
for  his  return  journey,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  but  a 
spy  upon  his  hosts.  When  he  set  out  upon  his  return,  eight  days 
later,  he  was  entrusted  with  a  letter  to  Mr.  Astor,  giving  the  presi- 
dent of  the  company  information  of  the  safe  arrival  of  the  Tonquin^ 


ASTORIA   AND  THE  JOINT  OCCTPATIOX  TREATY. 


157 


tlu'  founding  of  Astoria,  and  the  al»*encf  of  t'lie  vewsfl  u})on  a  trad- 
ing voyage  to  the  north,  for  the  destruction  of  the  ship  and  tragic 
death  of  the  crew  were  as  yet  unknown  at  the  f«»rt.  With  Thoni[)- 
son  went  David  Stuart,  at  the  head  f»f  a  |»arty  of  nine  men,  with 
instructions  to  estaldisli  a  post  on  the  l'|i[K'r  Gduinhia.  This  he 
accomplished  ])y  founding  Fort  Okinairuu,  near  the  mouth  of  tlie 
Okinagan  River.  In  the  fall  Stuart  sent  half  his  men  back  to 
Astoria,  not  having  sufficient  provisions  to  subsist  them  all  through 
the  winter.  The  schooner  whose  frame  had  l)een  brought  out  in 
the  Tonquin,  was  constructe«l  during  the  summer,  an«l  was  launched 
oil  the  second  of  October,  receiving  the  name  of  Dolly.  She  was  the 
third  craft  consti-ucted  on  the  up^xr  coa^st,  and  the  tirst  built  along 
tlie  Columbia  Kiver.  While  these  steps  were  lieing  taken  by  the 
})arty  which  reached  Astoria  by  sea,  the  other  »»ne  which  attempted 
the  overland  journey  wjus  suffering  terrilde  hardsliij)s. 

The  laud  party  was  under  the  command  of  AVilson  Price  Hunt, 
and  wa^  composed  of  McKenzie  and  three  new  partners,  liamsey 
Crook^,  Joseph  Miller  and  RoWrt  Mcl^llan;  also,  John  Day,  a 
noted  Kentucky  hunter;  Pierre  Dorion,  a  French  half -breed  inter- 
preter, and  enough  trappei-s,  voyageurs,  etc..  to  make  a  total  of  sixty 
lieople.  They  reached  Fort  Henry,  on  Snake  River,  October  8, 
ISll.  Small  detachments  were,  from  time  to  time,  sent  out  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  trap,  who  were  to  use  Fort  Henry  as  a  base  of 
supplies  and  a  depot  for  fure. 

The  remainder  of  the  party  contiuuetl  the  journey  down  Snake 
River  and  met  with  a  continuous  succession  of  disasters.  Antoine 
Clappin  was  drowTied  in  passing  a  rapid,  and  soon  after  famine 
reduced  them  to  a  pitiable  condition.  They  were  finally  forced  to 
separate  into  small  detachments,  one  party  going  under  Crooks, 
another  under  McKenzie,  and  a  third  under  Hunt,  with  the  hope  that 
by  such  a  division  their  chances  for  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Col- 
umbia would  be  increased.  Once  the  parties  under  Crooks  and 
Hunt  camped  with  only  the  narrow,  turbulent  waters  of  Snake 
River  separating  them.  The  Hunt  party  had  killed  a  horse  and 
were  cooking  it,  while  their  starving  companions  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  stream,  with  no  means  of  crossing  it.  were  forced  to  look  on  Jis 
they  dined.  Not  a  man  in  Mr.  Hunt's  camp  would  make  an  effort 
to  send  them  food,  until  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Crooks,  who,  discovering 


158 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


the  conditioM  of  liis  men  on  the  opposite  side,  called  to  the  forlorn 
hand  to  start  fires  for  cookinsj,  that  no  time  might  be  lost,  while  he 
constructed  a  canoe  (>ut  of  skins  in  which  to  take  the  meat  across  to 
them.  In  vain  he  tried  to  shame  the  more  fortnnate  into  helping 
t(->  succor  tlieir  famishing  companions,  Imt  "A  vague  and  almost 
su])erstitious  teri'or,"  savs  Irving,  "  had  infected  the  minds  of  Mr. 
Hunt's  followers,  enfeebled  and  rendered  imaginative  of  horroi's  by 
the  dismal  scenes  and  sufferings  through  which  they  had  passed. 
They  regai'ded  the  haggard  crew,  hovering  like  s|)ectres  of  famine  on 
the  opptisite  bank,  with  indefinite  feelings  of  awe  and  apprehension, 
as  f  something  desperate  and  dangerous  was  to  be  feared  from  them." 
When  the  canoe  was  finished,  Mr.  Crooks  attem})ted  to  navigate  the 
imj)etuous  stream  with  it,  but  found  his  strength  une(|ual  to  the 
task,  and  failing  to  I'cach  his  companions  on  the  opposite  bank, 
nnide  another  appeal  to  Hunt's  men.  Finally,  a  Kentuckian,  named 
Ken.  Jones,  undertook  and  made  the  passage,  conveying  meat  to 
them  and  tlien  came  l)ack.  Irving,  in  describing  the  sad  scene, 
says; — 

A  |)()()r  CauHdiiin,  liowever,  named  Jean  Baptists  Prevost,  wlioni  faniinf  had 
ri'uderotl  wild  and  dfs])C'rutc',  ran  frantically  about  the  bankn,  after  Jones  had  re- 
turned, er>  iiiji  out  to  Mr.  Hunt  to  send  the  oanoe  for  him,  and  take  him  from  that 
horrible  reKldii  of  fami!<e,  deelarinjt  tliat  otherwise  he  would  never  juareh  another 
step,  i)ut  would  lie  down  tlu're  ami  die.  The  eanoe  was  shortlj'  sent  over  ap^ain, 
under  the  manairement  of  Joseph  Delaunay,  with  further  supplies.  I'revost  inime- 
diatelv  pressed  lurv.ard  to  embark.  Delaunay  refused  to  admit  him,  telling  hln; 
that  .here  was  now  a  sutllcient  supply  of  meat  on  his  side  of  the  river.  He  replied 
tha.  it  was  not  cooked,  and  he  should  starve  before  it  was  ready  ;  he  implored,  theri"- 
fore,  to  l>e  taken  where  he  could  «ct  something  to  ajijieiise  his  hun^jer  immediately. 
Finding  the  canoe  j)uttinij;  of)"  withoiit  him,  he  forced  himself  aboard.  As  he  drew 
near  the  opposite  shore,  and  beheld  meat  roabtin)t  before  the  tire,  he  Jumped  up, 
shouted,  clai)i)ed  his  hands,  and  danced  In  a  delirium  of  joy,  until  lu'  upset  the 
canoe.  The  |)oor  wretch  was  swept  away  by  the  cuvrent  and  'Irowned,  and  it  was 
with  extreme  dilllcuKy  that  Delaunay  reached  the  shore.  Mi.  Hunt  now  sent  nil 
his  nu'n  forward  cxceptiuK  two  or  three.  Fii  the  evening,  he  caused  another  horse 
to  be  killed,  and  a  canoe  to  be  nuvde  out  of  the  skin,  in  which  lie  sent  over  a  further 
supply  of  meat  to  the  opposite  i)arty  The  canoe  brought  buck  John  Day,  the  Ken- 
tucky hunter,  -ho  came  to  Join  his  former  commander  and  employer,  Mr.  Crooks. 
Poor  Diiy,  once  so  active  and  vigorous,  was  now  rcfJuced  to  a  condition  even  more 
feeble  and  emaciated  than  his  companions.  Mr.  Oooks  had  such  a  value  for  the 
man,  on  account  of  his  past  services  and  faithful  character,  that  he  determined  not 
to  (piit  him;  he  exhorted  Mr.  Hunt,  however,  to  proceed  forward  and  Join  tin- 
party,  i.j  his  presence  was  all  important  to  the  cojuhict  of  the  exp<'dltion.  One  of 
the  Canadians,  Jean  Baptiste  Dubreull,  likewise  temalned  with  Mr.  CrtK/ks. 

The  oocnrrpnces  at  this  starvation  chmp  were  on  the  twentieth  of 


ASTOKIA   AND  THE  JOINT  OCCUPATION  TREATY. 


159 


I)eceml)er,  1811,  both  parties  being  tni  their  way  up  Snake  River 
after  having  found  the  (h'soent  of  that  stream  impossilde. 

It  wjiH  now  tlie'u'  intention  to  strike  across  tlie  country  for  the 
C(tlunil)ia,  as  soon  as  it  was  practicahh*  to  <U)  so.  On  the  twenty- 
tliii'd  of  December,  Mr  Hunt's  followers  crossed  to  the  west  side  of 
the  stream,  where  they  were  joined  by  Crook's  men,  who  were 
already  there.  The  two  parties,  when  united,  numbered  thirty-six 
souls,  and  on  the  next  <hiy  they  turned  from  the  river  into  a  track- 
less country;  but,  before  starting,  thive  more  of  their  number  had 
concluded  to  ivmain  amonj^;  the  sava<;es  rather  than  face  tho  hard- 
sliips  and  trials  that  lay  before  them.  December  2H,  1.S11,  the  head 
waters  of  Grand  Ronde  River  were  reached,  and  the  la.st  day  of  that 
year  found  them  encamped  in  the  valley  of  that  name.  Through 
all  their  perils  and  wanderings  since  leaving  St.  Louis,  one  woman, 
the  Indian  wife  of  Pierre  Dorion,  a  guide,  inter])i'eter  and  trapper, 
had  accompanied  them,  bringing  with  her  two  children,  and,  as  the 
{)arty  entered  the  (rrand  Ronde  Valley,  she  gave  birth  to  another. 
The  next  day  she  continU(xl  the  journey  on  liorseback  as  though 
nothing  had  ]iaj>[»ened,  but  the  little  stranger  only  lived  six  days. 
Mr.  Ilimt,  after  halting  one  or  two  days  to  enable  his  followers  to 
celebrate,  in  theii'  f(jrlorn  wa}',  the  advent  of  a  new  year  that  had 
presented  to  them  the  (li'and  Ronde  \'alley,  a  kind  of  winter  para- 
dise in  the  mountains,  continued  his  course  to  the  west.  Tlie  Rlue 
Mountain  ridge  was  passed,  and  January  S,  1S12,  an  Indian  village 
on  the  Umatilla  River  close  to  the  mountains  wsus  reached,  where 
they  were  hospitably  recieived.  From  there  their  route  was  down 
this  stream  to  the  Cohunbia  River,  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the 
latter,  arriving  at  Astoria  February  lo,  1^<12. 

Sinc(!  leaving  Fort  Henry,  October  10,  ISll,  out  of  Mr.  Hunt's 
|)arty,two  men  had  been  drowned  on  Snake  River,  and  poor  Michael 
Carriere,  when  exhausted,  had  straggled  beliind  in  Grand  Roude 
Valley,  anil  was  never  heard  from  afterwards.  Ramsey  Crooks, 
John  Day  and  four  Canadian  voyageurs  had  been  left  lialf  dead  on 
Snaki!  River,  to  remain  in  the  Indian  country,  die,  or  reach  the  Co- 
lumbia a.s  best  they  could.  Eleven  men.  among  whom  were  Donald 
McKen/ie,  Robert  McLellan  and  the  unfortunate  John  Reed,  had 
Iteeii  <letached  on  Snake  River,  and  following  that  stream  until 
its  waters  mingled    with    the   Columbia,  had    reached  Astoria  a 


160 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


month  in  advance  of  Mr.  Hunt.  Mr.  Stuart,  when  returning  from 
liis  post  on  the  Okinagan,  during  the  first  days  of  April,  found  Mr. 
Crooks  and  John  Day  on  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  River,  without 
weapons,  nearly  starved,  and  as  naked  as  when  born,  having  been 
robbed  and  stripped  by  the  Dalles  Indians.  They  had  wintered  in 
the  Blue  Mountains  about  (hand  Ronde  Valley,  and  in  the  spring 
had  i-eached  the  Walla  Wallas,  who  had  fed,  succored  them,  and 
sent  them  on  their  way  rejoicing  down  the  river.  When  found,  they 
were  making  their  way  back  to  tli^se  early  friends  of  the  Americans, 
who  never  failed  to  assist  our  people  when  in  trouble.  At  length 
all  but  three  of  those  starting  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Snake 
River  for  Astoria  had  reached  that  place,  except  the  four  voyageurs, 
anil  later  tlu^y,  too,  were  found  by  a  return  party. 

On  the  ninth  of  May,  the  ship  Beaver,  with  reinforcements  and 
supplies,  anchored  at  Astoria,  and  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  was 
in  condition  to  enter  upon  a  vigorous  fur-gathering  campaign.  Mr. 
Hunt,  who  was  at  the  head  of  affairs,  set  out  in  July  for  Alaska  to 
fulfill  the  mission  upon  which  the  ill-fated  Tonquin  had  sailed,  and 
hisdepartuie  left  Duncan  McDougal  in  cliarge.  Prior  to  this, 
however,  the  various  expeditions  to  trap  waters  and  trade  with 
natives  between  the  Rocky  and  Cfiscade  Mountains  liad  started, 
sixty-two  strong,  up  the  Columbia.  Among  the  numlier  was  the 
unfortunate  John  Day,  and,  as  the  party  ap[)roached  the  scenes  of 
his  former  sufferings,  his  mind  became  delirious,  and  the  mere  sight 
of  an  Indian  would  throw  him  into  a  frenzy  of  passion.  He  finally 
attem[)ted  his  own  life,  but  waw  prevented  from  taking  it,  after 
which  a  constant  guard  was  kept  over  him.  It  was  at  length  de- 
termined to  send  liim  back  to  Astoria,  and  being  placed  in  charge 
of  two  Indians,  he  wan  delivered  by  them  at  the  fort,  where  he  died 
in  less  than  a  year.  His  old  compeers  and  staunch  friends,  wh<t  had 
shared  j)erils  and  privations  with  him,  were  forced  to  continue  tiieir 
journey  with  a  sad  memory  of  this  companion,  whose  brain  Irnd 
been  shattered  by  his  nuuiy  misfortunes.  The  stream  wliich  had 
witnessed  his  sufferings  still  bears  the  heroic  trapper's  name.  The 
arrival  of  trappers  at  the  present  site  of  Wallula,  on  the  4,wenty- 
eighth  of  July,  1S12,  was  the  signal  for  general  rejoicing  among  the 
friendly  Walla  Wallas,  who  gre(>ted  them  with  bonfires  and  a  night 
dance,  in  which  they  sang  the  praises  of  their  white  friends.     Here 


A8TOK1A  AND  THK  ,IOINT  OCCUPATION  TUKATY, 


IGl 


the  four  expeditions  were  to  separate,  Robert  Stuai't  to  cross  the 
continent  by  Hunt's  route;  David  Stuart  to  go  up  the  Columbia  to 
Okinagan;  Donald  McKenzie  to  establish  a  post  in  the  Nez  Perce 
country;  and  John  Clarke  to  locate  one  among  the  Spokane  Indians. 
Of  these  several  expeditions,  Robert  Stuart,  with  his  pai'ty,  includ- 
ing Crooks  and  McLellan,  reached  St.  Louis  eleven  months  later, 
])earing  news  to  Mr.  Astor  of  his  enterprise  on  the  Paciiic  Coast. 
McKenzie's  operations  were  a  failure;  David  Stuart's  success  was 
e(pial*ito  his  most  sanguine  hopes,  and  Mr.  Clarke's  efforts  resulted 
second  only  to  those  of  Mr.  Stuart. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  1813,  Mr.  Clarke  started  from  his 
post  on  the  Spokane  to  reach  the  \\'alla  Walla,  the  ])lace  agreed 
upon  as  a  general  rendezvous,  where  the  different  expediticms  were 
to  meet  and  return  to  Astoria  with  the  fui's  obtained  in  their  ojie- 
rations  during  the  past  season.  On  his  way  up,  Mr.  C-larke  had 
left  his  canoes  in  charge  of  a  Palouse  chief,  living  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  of  that  name,  with  whom  he  found  them  on  his  ivtiu'n. 
He  had  twenty-eight  horsi^  ])acks  of  furs,  and  all  his  men  were  in 
high  spirits  Ijecause  of  the  success  that  had  attended  their  year's 
work.  While  stopping  at  the  mouth  of  this  stream  to  repair  their 
canoes,  in  which  to  embark  ujum  the  river,  an  incident  happened 
that  can  not  well  be  passed  in  silence.  Mr.  Clarke  was  a  strong 
disciplinarian,  something  t)f  an  aristocrat,  and  disposed  to  impress 
those  with  wiiom  he  came  in  contact  with  the  dignity  of  his  ])res- 
t'uce  ;uid  person.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  carrying  a  silver  goblet 
to  drink  from,  and  the  glittering  object  carefully  guarded  by  its 
possessor,  had  a  sti'ange  fascination  for  the  superstitious  Indians. 
In  all  tlieir  laud,  no  such  wondrous  device  had  been  seen  In-fore. 
I'licy  talked  to  <'ach  other  concerning  it,  watched  its  appearance, 
.111(1  the  care  with  which  the  lucky  possessor  laid  it  away  after 
using.  They  believed  it  to  l>e  a  great  medicine,  like  the  spotted 
shirt  and  the  white  ipiilt  among  the  CtiMir  d'Alenes,  a  powi'iiul 
talisman  to  shield  its  owner  from  harm.  One  night  it  <lisa|)peared, 
and  Mr.  C'larke  was  enraged.  lie  threat<'ne<l  to  hang  the  first  In- 
dian defticted  in  stealing,  and  the  ne.xt  night  an  unfortunate  one 
wius  caught  in  the  act.  A  hasty  trial  followed,  and  the  prisoner 
was  condemned  to  die,  when  Mr.  Clarke  nnide  the  assendded  sav- 
ages ji  s](ee«'h.     lie  recounted  th«'  numerous  gifts  that  luul  been  be- 


162 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


stowed,  the  benefit  the  white  man's  presence  had  been  to  theii*  peo- 
ple, and  then,  iipl)i'aiding  them  for  thefts,  told  the  Indians  that  he 
should  kill  the  thief  he  had  oaptinvd  with  pilfered  goods.  The  old 
chief  and  his  followers  besouglit  him  not  to  do  tliis.  They  were 
willing  that  he  shouhl  lie  juinishcd  severely,  and  then  let  go,  but 
the  trappei-  was  inexorable,  and  the  poor  groveling  \vretch  wax 
dragged  to  a  temporary  scaffold,  constructed  {r<»m  oars,  and  was 
launched  into  eternity.  The  other  partners  of  the  Pacific  Fur  C'om- 
pany  were  unanimous  in  condenming  this  act,  ami  Gal)riel  Fran- 
chere,  who  was  on*;  of  the  company  clerks,  wrote  concerning  the 
killhig  »»f  the  unfortunate  John  Keed  and  his  party  by  Indians  dur- 
ing the  ensuing  winter:  "  We  had  no  dtiubt  that  his  massacre  was 
an  act  of  vengeance,  on  the  part  of  the  natives,  in  retaliation  for 
the  death  of  one  of  their  [»eo[>le,  whom  Mr.  John  Clarke  had  hanged 
for  theft  the  sprint;  before."*  Immediately  after  this  hanffing  the 
|)arty  embarked  for  the  mouth  of  the  Walla  Walla,  where  Stuart 
and  McKenzie  Avere  Avaiting,  and  from  this  point  they  all  continued 
their  way  down  the  river,  arriving  at  Astoria,  June  12,  IHIM, 

Upon  re-assembling  at  head  ([uaiters,  the  return  exjieditions 
found  that,  upon  the  whole,  it  had  been  a  successful  year's  labor; 
that  tlie  {H'ltry  brought  in,  amounting  to  (me  hundred  and  Hfty -seven 
packs,  if  s(»ld  at  market  rates  in  Canton,  would  pay  well  for  the 
time  s[>ent,  and  reimburse  them  foi-  local  losses.  In  addition  to  this, 
they  had  become  well  established  in  the  fur-producing  regions,  and 
the  outlotik  was  very  encouraging  except  for  one  thing.  War  had 
been  raging  between  (Jreat  liritain  and  the  I'nited  States  for  over 
a  year,  and  they  had  recently  become  aware  of  the  fact.  On  their 
arrival  at  Astoria,  J.  (i.  McTavish,  with  nineteen  men,  was  found 
c«m[>ed  near  by,  awaiting  the  ap]tearance  of  a  vessel  called  the  Isaac 
Todd^  sent  by  the  Noi'thwest  C'onij>an\'  with  stores  for  tlieru,  and 
bearing  letters  of  mar(|ue,  and  instructions  from  the  British  (loverii- 
raent  to  destr(»y  everything  American  found  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
This  latter  fact  was  unknown  at  Astoria  at  tiie  time,  however,  but 
the  non-arrival  of  supplies  by  sea,  combined  with  the  unfavorable 
news  of  British  success  in  arms,  led  the  partners  to  fear  fliat  none 
what^^ver  would   reach  them.       They,  conse(|uently,  determined  to 


•  TlilB  Is  iiiKlo(il>t«>dlv  liu'orrcct.  as  Hei-ifN  party  wan  kllli'd  nonr  BVrt  Henry,  devpml  hiindrcil 
iiilleH  UlHliiiil.  Hii>l  liy  II  ioiiilly  dlMltnut  tribe  ul'  IiidlaiiM. 


?  • 


ASTOEIA  AND  THE  JOINT  OCCUPATION   THKATY, 


163 


abandon  the  country  and  start  on  their  return  overland  the  ensuing 
year,  if  their  misgivings  proved  well  founded.  They  sold  their 
Spokane  fort  to  McTavish  for  $848,  and  then  furnished  that  gentle- 
man with  provisions  to  enable  him  to  return  to  the  upper  country, 
and,  in  July,  they  visited  the  interior  themselves,  to  gather  what 
furs  they  could  before  taking  final  leave  of  the  country.  Three 
months  later,  McTavish  returned  to  Astoria  with  a  force  of  seventy- 
five  TO',  n,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  vessel  that  had  caused  his 
former  visit,  bringing,  also,  the  news  that  her  coming  to  the  Colum- 
bia was  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  Astoria,  and  to  assist  the 
Northwest  Company  in  gaining  ascendency  on  the  coa.st.  He  offered 
to  buy  the  furs  of  the  Astorians,  and,  on  the  si.xteeuth  of  October, 
1813,  a  transfer  of  the  entire  stock,  worth  at  leawt  ^''i(>,0(i(»,  was 
made  for  less  tlian  >^4(>,(K>0.  Two  months  later,  on  December  12th, 
the  fort  wa8  sui-rendered  to  the  English  under  conunand  of  a  naval 
officer.  Captain  Hlack  of  the  Raccoon,  when  tlie  American  flag  wa.s 
lowered  to  give  the  British  colors  place,  and  the  name  of  Astoria 
was  changed  to  "  Fort  (leorge."  An  anuising  incident  of  this  trans- 
fer is  related  by  John  Ross  CJox: — 

The  IndianB,  at  the  mouth  of  the  (Columbia,  knew  well  ttiut  Great  Britian  ttiui 
America  were  distinct  nations,  and  that  they  were  then  at  war,  but  were  iRnovant 
of  the  arrangement  made  between  MeHnrs.  McDougal  and  McTavish,  the  former  of 
whom  Htill  continued  as  nominal  chief  at  the  fort.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Raccoon 
which  they  quickly  discovered  to  be  one  of  "King  (Jeorge's  (iKhting  ships,"  they 
repaired,  armed,  to  tlie  fort,  and  requested  an  audience  of  Mr.  McDougal.  He  was 
somewhat  surprised  at  their  numbers  and  warlike  apfiearance,  and  demanded  the 
object  of  such  an  unusual  visit.  Conconily,  the  principal  chief  of  the  Chinooks 
(whose  daughter  McDougal  had  married),  thereupon  addressed  himin  a  l<>ngsi)eech, 
in  the  course  of  which  ho  said  that  King  George  had  sent  a  ship  full  of  warriors, 
iind  loaded  with  nothing  but  big'guns,  to  take  the  Americans  and  make  them  all 
slaves,  and  that,  as  they  (the  Americans)  were  the  first  white  men  who  settled  in 
their  country,  and  treated  the  Indians  like  good  relations,  they  ha('i  resolved  to 
defend  them  from  King  (ieorge's  warriors,  and  were  now  ready  to  conceal  them- 
selves In  the  woods  close  to  tlie  wharf,  from  whence  they  would  be  able,  with  their 
(.'uus  and  arrows,  to  shoot  all  the  men  that  shoidd  attempt  to  land  from  flie  English 
lioats,  while  the  people  in  the  fort  could  tire  at  tliem  with  their  big  guns  and  rifles. 
This  ]>ropo8itlon  was  uttered  with  an  earnestness  of  manner  that  admitted  no  doubt 
of  itjs  sincerity.  Two  armed  boats  from  (he  Raccoon  were  approaching,  and,  had 
the  people  In  the  fort  felt  disposed  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  tlie  Iiidiuns,  every  man 
in  them  would  have  been  destroyed  by  an  invisible  enemy.  Mr.  McDougal  thanked 
them  for  their  friendly  offer,  but  added,  that,  notwithstanding  the  nations  were  at 
war,  the  people  in  the  boats  would  not  Injure  hini  or  any  of  his  people,  and  therefore 
re(|uested  them  to  throw  by  their  war  shirts  and  arms,  and  receive  the  strangers  as 
their  I'riends.  They  at  first  seemed  astonished  at  this  answer;  but,  on  assuring 
llieni,  in  the  must  positive  manner,  tliat  he  was  under  no  iipprehenslon,  they  eon- 


uu 


Hl!*TOKY  OK  WILLAMETTK  VALLKT. 


sontetl  to  give  up  their  weaiions  for  a  few  days.  They  afterwards  declared  they 
were  sorry  fur  having  roni|)lied  with  Mr.  MfDougal's  wishes,  for  when  tliey  oh- 
serveti  Captain  HIaek,  xurrountied  by  Ijis  otHcers  and  marines.  I>r»>ak  tlie  liottle  of 
port  on  tlie  tlag-statt'.  and  hoist  the  HritiHli  ensign,  after  eliangin/  the  name  of  the 
fort,  they  reniarke<1  that  however  lie  miglit  wisli  to  eoneeal  tite  faet,  t lie  Americans 
were  undoul>le<ily  nuule  slaves. 

Seventy-»'i«rht  days  aft<*f  t\\v  sun't'iidfr  <»f  Astoria  t«>  tlu-  British, 
Mr.  Hu'it  arrivf-il  at  that  fort  in  the  hri^  Pedlar,  ami  jutlire  «»f  Iiis 
astonishiiuMit  to  learn  that  Mt'I)oui;al  was  lut  hniirer  a  partner  of 
the  Pai'itie,  hut  of  the  Nortliwest,  Conij>an\  ;  that  lie  held  |Mis.ses- 
slon,  not  iiiuler  the  American,  hut  under  the  British,  ttajr:  and  that 
all  in  whieh  Mr.  Hunt  was  interested  on  this  eoast  ha<l  |«tsse<l, 
without  a  MiUiTirle,  thronuh  treaeherv,  intt>  the  haiuls  of  his  couutrv's 
enemies.  Mr.  Hunt,  finally,  secured  the  pape'-s  pertainiui;  to  husi- 
nesvs  trausaetious  of  the  I'aeitie  Fur  Company  from  MeDoUiral,  and 
then  sjiiletl,  April  3,  1814,  from  the  .shore  that  Inul  seemeil  to  yield 
only  misfortune  and  disaster  in  return  for  the  efftuts  of  himself,  and 
those  with  wlu»m  he  was  associated.  The  ne.xt  dav.  David  Stuart 
MoKenzie.  John  Clarke  and  eighty-iive  other  mendn^rs  and  employees 
of  the  Paeitie  Fur  Comj)any,  started  up  the  Columhia  River  in  their 
iMiats  on  their  way  across  the  continent,  and  while  pjis.-^inir  Wallula, 
learne«l  from  the  widow  of  Pierre  Dorion,  of  the  massacre  of  John 
Roeil  and  his  eight  Jts.sociates,  among  the  Snake  Indians  near  Fort 
Henry. 

Thus  matters  remained  until  the  war  of  l.Sl'J  was  terminated  by 
the  Treaty  of  (ihent,  by  'vhich  it  was  stipulatiil  that  "all  t<'rritory, 
places  juhI  jms.sessions,  whats<»ev«'r,  taken  by  either  party  from  the 
<)ther  tlnring  the  war,  or  which  may  be  tak«'n  after  the  signing  of 
this  treaty,  shall  be  re.st<»red  without  tlelay."  The  etinunissioners 
couhl  not  agree  upon  a  line  of  division  between  the  pos.s«'ssi(m8  of 
England  and  the  United  States  w<'st  of  the  Lake  of  the  W«»ods,  so 
the  Oregim  question  wjis  left  for  further  disctKvion.  and  the  C\dinn- 
bia  remaine«l  dispute«l  territory.  Mr.  Astor  at  once  applie<1  to  the 
President  for  restitution  of  his  property  under  the  terms  (»f  the 
treaty,  sis  he  not  only  desired  to  recover  his  losses,  Itut  to  resume 
operations  on  the  ('oluml>ia  and  cairy  out  the  plan  of  American 
«K*cupation  which  had  been  so  well  l»egun.  Acconlingly.  in  Jidy. 
If^l"),  the  government  notified  the  British  Minister  at  \Va.shingtou 
that  it  woidd  immediat*^ly  reo<!cup3  the  captur^l  fort  at  the  mouth  of 


ASIOIMA    AM)  THK  .KUNT  (>('('l'rA'n«»\   TUKATY. 


K).') 


tlu'  Columhia:  Imt  tlu'  uotlHcjition  elicitod  n<>  official  responne  from 
(ircat  Britain.  For  two  years  no  active  inwisurcs  were  taken,  and, 
tinally,  in  Se{>t«'ni!»er,  I. Si  7,  the  sloop  of  war  Ontario  \va.s  dispatched 
to  the  C(»liniil»ia,  conimanded  by  Captain  J.  Bi<ldle,  wlio,  with  J. 
li.  Prevost,  who  went  as  a  passenger,  constituted  a  commission  to 
acconiplisJi  the  p»n-p(»se  declared.  They  wei'e  instructed  to  assert 
the  claim  of  the  I'nited  States  to  sovereignty  over  the  regi«m  of  tlie 
Columbia,  but  to  do  so  in  an  inoffensive  nuuiner. 

This  step  compelled  (Ireat  Britain  to  detine  her  [»osition.  Her 
representative  at  ^^'ashin^ton  officially  in([uired  of  Secretary  Adams 
the  destination  and  oliject  of  the  Ontario^ 'M\(\  with  the  information 
he  received  in  response  to  his  query  was  the  intimation,  that  since 
England  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  notice  given  her  two  yeaiv 
before,  it  had  l)een  assume<l  that  she  had  no  intention  t)f  claiming 
any  sovereign  rights  al«)nsr  the  CoUunbia.  In  answer  to  this  the 
British  Minister  stated  that  the  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  CVdumbia 
was  the  private  property  of  the  NortlnN'est  Company,  having  been 
purchased  by  its  agent  from  a  partner  of  Mr.  Astor;  furthermore, 
that  it  wa.s  situated  in  a  region  long  ()ccui)ied  by  that  company, 
(referring,  presumably,  t(»  the  establishment  on  Fnuser  River,  many 
hundred  miles  to  the  north),  and  was  consetpiently  considered  a 
[)ortion  of  His  Majesty^s  dominions.  Quite  a  spirited  correspond- 
ence was  maintained  for  some  time,  involving  on  each  side  the  ques- 
tions of  abstrai't  rights  by  discovery  and  absolute  rights  by  posses- 
sion, l>oth  parties  to  the  cttntroversy  !)asing  a  claim  upon  each  of 
these  foundations.  As  the  claims  then  put  forward  reuuiined  prac- 
tically the  same  until  the  (piestion  was  settled  in  1S4<> — with  a 
iiiodiHcatitm  only  in  the  dir<'ction  <»f  additional  settlements  made 
between  these  periods— it  is  well  to  tletine  here  the  positii)n  a.s.sumed 
liy  the  contending  parties. 

The  I'nited  States  claimed  Oregon  under  foui'  distinct  titles: 
First,  as  a  portion  of  Louisiana,  piu'chased  from  France  in  1803; 
second,  l)y  right  f)f  discovery  l)y  the  Spanish  e.\ph)rers — Ferrelo, 
Aguilar,  IVre/,  lleceta,  B(»dega  y  Quadra,  and  others — the  benefit 
of  whose  discoveries  accrued  to  the  United  States  by  the  Floi'ida 
|)urcha.se  made  in  1819,  denying  at  the  same  time  that  Sir  Francis 
Drake  proceeihil  north  of  the  forty-thinl  degree,  a  point  claimed  to 
have  Ijeen  pre.vitmsly  reached  by  Ferrelo  [The  Spanish  title  wa.s  not 


1H6 


IIISTOKV   OK   WII.I.AMKTTK   VAI.I  KY. 


asserted,  of  eouis**,  until  after  the  purelijise,  being  subsequent  to  the 
Hist  temporary  <ettleinent  of  the  (question  ];  third,  by  rea-«on  of  the 
discovery  of  th«*  Columbia  by  Captain  (iray,  claimintr  that  Ilt^fta, 
Meares  and  N'aneouver  had  all  declared  that  no  river  ••xi«it«'«l  there. 
anil  that  Hroughton  had  sinqdy  entered  it  subsHpient  to  its  disci»v- 
ery  l)v  (rray,  ami  explored  it  a  few  miles  further  up:  fourth,  by 
reason  of  the  explorations  of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  the 
establishment  i»f  jH>sts  at  Astoi'ia,  (Jkinagan  and  SjM>kaue  by  the 
Paeitic  Fur  Company,  denying  that  the  sale  of  those  jM)sts,  effectwl 
umler  the  diu-ess  of  threateneil  capture  by  a  man-of-war,  w:is  such 
{is  to  affect  the  right  of  the  I'niteil  States  to  the  benetits  to  In-  de- 
riveil  from  settlements  made  by  her  subjects,  es])ecially  in  view  of  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace.  On  the  j)art  »»f  (xreat  Britain  it  wa- 
clainietl  that  the  country  'vas  originally  discovei*e«l  by  Sir  FraneU 
Drake,  and  its  coast  th«»roughly  explored  by  Captain  Cook  and 
Captain  Vanc«»uver:  that  the  disc(»very  of  the  C<dunjbia  had  l»een 
a  jtrogressive  one,  the  successive  steps  having  been  taken  by  Hei-eta, 
Meares,  Vancouver,  (iray  and  Brought«>n,  claiming  that  (iray  had 
not  entere<l  the  river  i>rt»per,  but  simply  the  estuary  at  its  mouth, 
and  that  Bi'ouirhton  wjt"*  the  first  to  actually  enter  an»l  explore  the 
Columbia,  and  d«-nying  that  (Jray,  who  was  simply  a  trad'  .  couhl 
acquire  discovery  rights  for  his  government;  and,  finally,  that  <he 
held  the  country  by  right  of  exploration  and  posses>ion.  since 
McKenzie  luul  made  an  overland  jc^urney  prior  to  that  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  Fras«*r  had  built  a  fort  on  Fraser  Lak^-  bt-fon-  Astoria  w:»s 
founded,  and  the  Xoithwest  Comjiany,  having  purchasetl  at  private 
sale  the  pro^n-rty  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  then  held  imssesision 
of  the  Columltia  ngion  by  means  of  settlements  at  Astoria  and 
other  points  ah»ng  the  river. 

Such  were  the  claims  advanci^l  by  the  two  natit»ns  for  potsjession 
of  Oregon,  there  U'lng  n»any  undeniable  rights  and  ifpiities  on 
either  side.  A  t«-m)»orarv  agreement  was  affecte<l  in  a  few  mouth.<. 
Ity  which  it  wa>  d^t-ide^l  that  Astoria  and  the  other  jxists  should 
remain  the  actual  pi-ojH'rty  of  the  Northwest  Company,  but  that 
nominal  possession  should  be  given  to  the  L'nite<l  States  as  a  nation. 
the  (juestion  of  title  Ix'ing  deferred  for  future  negotiation.  This 
decision  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  hopes  of  Mr.  Astor,  who  had 
looke<1  to  the  Government  to  place  him  in  possession  of  the  prop- 


\S|(»i:iA    AND  rilK  .lOIXT  (JCrri'ATION   TIIKATY. 


167 


fity  wiik-li  lie  lijul  lost  throuirli  the  fortunes  of  war  arul  the  treaehery 
of  oiu-  of  liis  partners.  So  firmly  intrenclie<l  wan  the  Northwest 
Company  that  he  did  not  deem  it  advisalde  to  found  a  rival  estab- 
lishment, and  he  al)andone<l  his  effort  to  enga<(e  in  the  fur  trade  in 
the  Paeifie.  By  thus  failin;/  t<»  support  its  citizens  who  had  under- 
taken to  plant  the  ila<r  of  the  ['nited  States  firmly  on  the  soil  of 
OreiTon,  the  (fovernment  jeopardized,  almost  to  total  annihilation, 
its  chanees  foi'  future  possession  of  tlii<  repon. 

While  these  neifotiations  were  in  proi^ress,  the  Ontario  was  ful- 
filling her  mission.  She  arrivinl  at  Valparaiso  in  February,  1818, 
and  .Mr.  Prevost  del)ark«*«l,  having  an  official  mission  to  the  Chilean 
(tovernment.  Captain  Hid<lle  continued  northward,  and  entered  the 
Columbia  in  .\ugnst,  taking  formal  possession  of  the  country  in  the 
name  of  the  I'liiteil  States.  Me  then  sailed  to  other  portions  of  the 
Pacific.  .Meanwhile,  th*-  «*ontroversy  having  been  tempoi-arily  settled 
upon  the  terms  outlined  al)()ve,  the  British  (xovernment  delegated 
( 'aptain  Sheriff,  of  the  navy,  sis  commissioner  to  e.xecute  formal  trans- 
fer of  Fort  (reorge.  The  agent  of  the  Northwest  (Vmipany,  Mr.  Keith, 
wjis  also  notiti«'d  by  his  superi(»r  officers  of  what  was  about  to  be 
dune,  the  ordei-s  going  «>verland  with  the  annual  Mcmtreal  express, 
and  enjoined  to  offer  no  (»pposition  to  the  formal  transfer.  Captain 
Sheriff  sailed  in  the  frigate  Blossom,  and  meeting  Mr.  Prevost  in 
Chile,  offei-ed  him  passage  to  the  Cohnnbia  in  his  vessel,  which 
<-ourte.sy  wjus  accepted.  The  ^/^^v.ww  <'ast  anclioi-  at  Astoria  early 
ill  ( )ctober,  and  Mi'.  Keith  surrendere*!  formal  possession  of  the 
jM-operty,  retaining,  of  course,  actual  p»»ssession  and  ownership.  A 
•  ertificate  was  given  Mr.  Prevost,  stating  that  Fort  (reorge,  im  the 
Cohnnbia,  had  been  duly  surrendered  to  him  as  representative  of 
the  I'nited  States;  and  he  gave  the  officers  a  written  acceptance  of 
the  transfer.  These  formal  preliminaries  having  been  cimcliided, 
the  British  standard  was  lowere<l  an<l  the  stars  and  stripes  were 
temj)«)rarily  displayed  upon  the  walls  of  the  fort,  while  the  guns  of 
the  Blossom  roared  a  noisy  salute.  The  American  ensign  wa>>  then 
lowered,  and  tlu'  farce  was  ov«'r.  The  I'nited  States  was  thus 
again  nominally  in  possession  of  Oregon,  while  the  actmil  possessors 
were  the  agents  of  th«-  Northwest  Ctmipany,  subjects  of  Great 
Britain. 

Fort  George  in  1818  was  a  far  different  structure  from   Astoria 


1(>H 


msTOKY   OK   WII.I.AMKTTK  VALLKT. 


as  it  e.\ist«Ml  wIumi  suriviuhTtNl  to  th»'  Xorthw»*.t  ("••mpiiny  in  \><\'\ 
A  stockade  of  jtiin'  logs,  rising  twrlve  feet  a)m*\-f  the  !LT«»un«l,  en- 
con  i  passed  a  parallelogram  I50x'j5«»  U-*-i  in  diniensinns.  Within 
this  were  dwellings,  storehouses,  niag:uines.  sh«»|i(*.  etr.  Tile  wall:* 
mounted  two  eighte«'n-|>oundeiN,  six  six-|"»uniler*,  four  four-jxtund 
carrona<les,  two  six-ponnd  cohorns  and  seven  swnvebi.  an  anuaineiit 
sufficient  to  rendei'  it  a  strong  foit  in  thoise  «l.-iy>.  These  reiiiaine«l 
after  the  surrender,  and  F«irt  (Tcorge  \vji>.  |»n»»-ti«-aHy,  a*  much  of  a 
British  ])ost  as  hefore. 

The  two  governments  still  «'ontinue«I  to  nt'gtttiate  on  the  main 
])oint  at  issue  -title  to  Oregon.  Neither  would  rv>-eile  fn»ni  the 
j)ositi<ms  assumed  at  the  heginning  of  the  ointriiversy.  and  t«»  av«»id 
an  open  ruj)ture,  and  with  the  Iuhh-  that  time  wouM  'ujei-t  a  new 
element  into  the  (|Uesti(Mi,  a  treaty  of  procnistinatii-.  was  signe<l. 
By  this  com  ention  it  was  agree<l  that  all  territories  and  their  waters, 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  should  l»e  free  ami  o|H'ii  to  the  vessel* 
and  to  the  use  and  occupation  of  the  citizens  and  -ulijecL-.  of  lioth 
nations  for  the  litiiod  of  ten  yeais.  that  no  claim  **f  either  party 
should  in  any  manner  lie  prejudicetl  l»y  this  actiou.  ami  that  neither 
shouhl  gain  any  right  of  dominit>n  l»y  su-'h  U'^«»r  ••cvupatiou  during 
the  s])eciiied  term.  This  treaty  of  joint  uci-u|iatiou  rvuiaineil  in 
force,  liy  extension  \vith  nuitual  consent,  until  the  <|Uestion  was 
definitely  settled  in  1S4<».  On  the  twenty->ee«»nd  of  Felmiarv. 
181W,  the  State  I)e[>artment  consummateil  negotiations  whirli  ha«l 
been  in  progress  for  some  time,  completing  the  title  of  the  I'niteii 
States  ji.s  defined  in  a  previous  paragraph.  ThU  wa.<  the  signing 
of  a  treaty  with  Spain,  l»y  which  the  ProNTnoe  of  Florida  was  con- 
veyed to  the  United  States,  including  all  the  rights,  claims  ami  pre- 
tensions of  Spain  to  any  territories  north  ami  east  of  a  line  drawn 
from  the  soiirce  of  the  .Vrkansjis,  north  to  the  forty-s*Tx»nd  juirallel, 
and  thence  to  the  Pacific  This  remained  the  inmudar}'  iK'tween 
the  United  States  and  Mexico,  and  l»etween  the  dUputeil  laud  of 
Oregon  and  the  Mexican  possessions  west  of  the  R«j*-ky  Mountains. 
It  still  continues  to  he  the  southern  boimdarj-  of  <>ivg<L»n,  Kut  leased 
to  divide  the  United  States  from  Mexic»»  when  C'alif*»mia,  Xew 
Mexico  and  Arizona  were  conquered  or  purt-ha.<^^. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  RIVAL  FUR  COMPANIES. 


irnncth  arul  Power  of  the  Northmeftt  Company — Jilvulnj  hetioeen  it  and 
fhf  Iliuhon'x  Ihiij  CoiajHitti/- -The  lieil  liii'tr  War — Harrows'  De- 
xcripflon  nf  the  Ilaihiinx  Bay  C'oinjtanif^The  C'liMtlian  Voi/a- 
(jtarx — Fort  Winroai'er  J'^nandt'd  Ihmn'x  IK >irrlj>fi(iii  of  the  Kort 
and  the  Methods  of  tht  IJudKini's  Bay  Compain/  in  <h'e<joit. 


THE  Noitliwcst  C()mi)aiiy  luul  now  full  cuutnd  <if  ( )ifgoii,  hut 
a  fiiTfc  and  bloody  stnij^<rl«'  wjis  sjoiiig  on  between  it  ami  the 
older  Hndson^s  Hay  ('(»nipany,  for  possession  «»f  tlie  fur  ret^ions  of 
America.  The  n)nij»anies  had  j^rown  too  lari;e  t«>  be  tolerant  of 
each  other;  ojje  must  go  the  wall.  When  Hrst  organized  the  old 
company,  enjoying  chartered  ])rivileg«'s  and  supreme  monopoly  of 
a  vjist  extent  of  territt>ry,  laughed  with  derision  at  the  idea  that  a 
few  independent  tradei^s  could  so  cond»ine  a-;  to  beccUK'  dangerous 
rivals;  but  that  such  wjis  tin;  fact  was  tpiickly  demonstrated.  The 
Northwest  Company  began  operations  on  a  thorough  system,  by 
which  it  was  soon  developed  into  a  powerful  and  wealthy  corjK)ra- 
tion.  All  its  managing  agents  were  interested  partners,  who  natur- 
ally did  their  utmost  to  swell  the  receipts.  In  the  plenitude  of  its 
power  it  gave  em[>loyment  to  two  thousand  voyageui-s,  wliile  its 
agents  penetrated  the  wildern«'ss  in  all  directions  in  search  of  furs. 
It  wjis  the  pi(»neer  of  the  Northwest.  While  the  chartered  monop- 
oly clung  like  a  burr  to  its  granted  limits,  the  new  organization  was 
exploring  and  taking  possession  of  that  \a.st  region  lying  l)etween 
Lake  Superior  and  the  Pacific,  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  It  Inis  }>een  sh«nvn  how  Mackenzie  made  a  journey  to  the 
Arctic  and  another  to  the  Pacific,  and  how  his  footstc^jis  wert-  fol- 
lowed by  Fra.ser  and  a  post  established  in  the  extreme  W(^st.  While 
the  old  company  wa.s  sluggishly  awaiting  ihe  advent  of  Indians  at 


70 


msTOKV  OK  WII.LAMKTTK  VAI.LKY. 


thf  f«nv  posts  it  had  established  in  cciitral  locations,  the  rival  organ- 
ization sent  its  aLfcnts  out  t(»  trade  with  the  triUcs  far  and  near.  The 
result  was  that  all  the  trihes,  except  those  in  the  inunediate  vicinity 
of  the  Hudson's  liay  Company  forts,  were  ijradually  won  to  an 
alliance  with  the  youni^er  and  more  vi<;orous  or<;ani/ation.  The 
collection  of  furs  was  so  ovei'-stimulate(l  that  a  complete  e.\tincti(»n 
of  fur-l»earin<;  animals  Avas  threatene<l.  A  systt'inatic  effort  was 
being  made  to  drive  tlie  old  com|)any  from  the  most  valuable  beaver 
country,  and  to  so  cripple  it  that  a  surrender  of  its  charter  woidd 
become  necessai-y. 

The  result  of  this  aggressive  j)olicy  was  to  arouse  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  a  realizing  sense  of  the  precarious  condition  i>f 
affairs,  and  the  necessity  of  taking  energetic  steps  to  i'ec(»vt!r  the  lost 
ground.  Its  effoi-ts  to  do  this  soon  residted  in  hostile  collisions 
between  its  representatives  and  ajients  of  the  I'IvmI  company,  lead- 
ing to  a  state  of  war  l>etween  them.  The  first  act  of  actual  Imstilit}  , 
other  than  mere  trade  invalry,  was  conMuitte(l  in  isoCi,  when  a  trader 
of  tile  Hudson's  Hay  Com[)any  was  forcibly  dejyrived  of  four  hundred 
and  eighty  packs  (»f  beaver  skins,  and  a  few  m<»nths  later  of  fifty 
more.  Tiie  same  year  anolhei-  trader  was  attacked  and  robbed  of 
valuable  furs  by  servants  of  the  Northwest  Company,  and  received 
similar  treatment  again  the  following  spring.  These  acts  of  plun- 
dering were  numerous,  and  since  no  law  but  the  law  of  might  existed 
in  the  wilderness,  there  was  no  redress  foi-  the  despoiled  comjtany 
nor  puiashment  for  the  ofTeiiders,  since  the  lattei'  were  Canadians 
and  their  victims  citizens  of  England  and  not  possessed  of  facilities 
for  securing  redress  in  the  courts  of  Canachi.  In  twelve  years  but 
one  case  was  brought  to  trial,  in  1<S(I!>,  when  a  Huds<)n's  Hay  Com- 
pany man  wa.s  convicted  of  manslaughter  for  killing  an  agent  of 
the  other  company  who  was  m.'iking  an  attack  u})on  him  with  a 
sword;  and  this  result  was  accomplished  by  the  powerful  influence 
of  the  Northwest  ('omj)any  in  Montreal. 

In  ISI'2,  having  received  a  grant  of  fertile  land  from  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Comjiany,  Lord  Stdkirk,  a  man  of  energy  and  an  enthusi- 
ast on  the  subject  of  colonial  emigration,  commenced  a  settlement 
on  Red  Kiver  near  its  junction  with  the  Assiniboine,  south  of  Lake 
Winnipeg.  No  sooner  was  this  accomidished  than  the  rival  com- 
pany expressed  a  determination  to  destroy  the  settlement,  and  in 


THK  KIVAL  Frn  roMPAMKs. 


171 


tW  luitunm  of  1814  litt***!  out  an  fxix-rlition  for  that  piirjMtsc  at  its 
chief  estaltlishiiu'iit,  Fort  William,  on  th*-  ^hon-  of  Lake  Su|Hi-ior. 
After  harassiiii;  the  setth-nient  for  >onie  nioiith«i,  an  attack  was 
nuuhMipon  it  in  June,  lsl5,  which  wa>  reputed.  Artillery  having 
heen  l)iou<j;ht  up,  the  IdiildinirH  of  Fort  (iiliraltar.  the  stronijhohl 
of  tlie  settlement,  were  iMitternl  down  an<l  the  place  captureil.  The 
"governor  was  s«'nt  to  Montreal  a  prisoner,  the  reniaintler  of  the  set- 
tlers were  exjtelled  from  the  country,  the  cattle  were  slauirhtered 
and  the  l)uildinfrs  demolislu-d.  In  the  fall,  however,  the  colonists 
returned  with  a  i;i-eat  acc«*ssion  to  their  numln-rs  and  ai;ain  estuh- 
lished  themselves  uiwh^r  the  leader>liip  of  Colin  Koliertson,  'oeinjjj 
accompanied  hy  Uohert  Semple,  G«»vernor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  territories.  In  the  sprinir  <»f  I  sic,  Alexander  McDon- 
nell, a  partner  of  the  Northw»*st  C»»nipany.  collected  a  strong  force 
with  the  design  of  crushing  the  s^-tth-nient  comph  tely.  After  cap- 
turing the  supply  train  on  its  way  to  Re«l  IJiver,  the  invading  force 
came  upon  (rovernor  Semph*  an<l  a  force  of  thirty  men  all  of  whom 
tliey  killed,  except  one  who  was  made  a  prisoner  and  four  who  es- 
caped. The  settlers  still  remaining  in  the  fort.  s<'eing  the  hopeless- 
ness of  resistance,  surrendered,  and  to  tlie  numl«'r  of  two  hundred 
were  sent  in  canoes  to  Hudson's  Bay.  They  were  chieily  Scotch, 
as  were  also  the  attacking  party;  luit  the  h»ve  of  gain  was  stronger 
than  the  ties  of  l>lood. 

In  1S*21  parliament  put  an  end  to  this  Moody  feud  and  ruinous 
i'onH)etiti(m  l>y  consolidating  the  rival  n»nipanies  undei-  the  name 
of  The  IIonoral>le  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  l»v  which  was  created 
an  organization  far  more  powerful  than  had  eitlier  heen  before,  and 
Kngland  gained  a  united  and  |>otent  airent  for  the  advancement  of 
her  interests  in  America.  The  settlement.*  on  the  Red,  .\ssinil)oine 
and  Saskatchewan  rivers  were  renewe<l,  and  Winnipeg  l)ccaine  in  a 
few  years  the  center  of  a  prosjHTou-i  community.  The  new  com- 
]>any  took  possession  of  Fort  (reorge  and  «»ther  j>osts  along  the  Co- 
luml)ia,  and  as  it  thereafter  l)ecame  ch>s<-ly  woven  into  the  history 
of  this  region,  a  hrief  descripti»m  of  its  founding,  gr<»wth  and  meth- 
ods becomes  necessary  to  a  full  understamling  t»f  suhsecpu'ut  events. 
1  )r.  William  Barrows  gives  the  follo\ring  description  of  that  pow- 
erful corporation : 

Its  two  objects,  as  set  forth  Id  ita  charter,  were  "  for  the  discover}'  of  a  new  pas- 


172 


IJISTOHY   OK    \V  I  I.I.AM  KTTE  VALLKY. 


sage  into  the  South  Sra,  iiini  for  tlie  tindinn  of  some  trjulo  for  fiii-s,  niiiicrals  and 
other  (•i)nsi(lrral)l(' fomnioilitics.'"  II  may  ^^•('ll  ho  sii><|K>('t(!(i  tiiat  tlu'  llrst  wa«  the 
fa*'i' anil  tlic  second  the  soul  of  tlie  cliavter,  which  f^rantx  to  the  coinjiany  the  ex- 
clusive riftht  of  the  "  trade  and  commerce  of  all  those  seas,  st^ait^s  and  hays,  riverw, 
Iake»,  creeks,  and  sounds,  In  whatsoever  latitude  they  shall  he,  that  lie  within  the 
entrance  of  the  straits  commonly  called  lludsim  Straits,"  and  of  all  lands  horderinj? 
them  not  undt-rany  other  civili/.cd  }iovernmciit.  This  covt-red  all  territory  within 
that  immenHe  iiasin  from  rim  to  rim,  one  viltra  dip|>inK  into  the  Atlantic  and  the 
other  looking  into  the  I'acitic.  Throujfh  tl'is  vast,  e.vtcnt  the  com|)any  was  made 
for  "all  lime  hereafter,  •.•a|iiil)le  In  law,  to  have,  purchase,  receive,  possi-ss,  enjoy, 
and  retain  lands,  rents,  privileire:-.  liherties,  jurisdiction,  franchise,  and  heredita- 
ments ol  what  kind,  nature,  or  (luality  soever  they  he,  to  them  and  their  sui-ees- 
sors."  The  company  held  that  region  a«  a  man  holds  his  farn>,  or  iw  the  great  hulk 
of  rial  estate  In  Kn^land  is  now  held.  'I  hey  could  legislate  r)ver  and  jjovern  it, 
houni!  only  hy  the  tenor  and  spirit  of  l^n);li^  h  law,  and  make  war  I'ud  peace  within 

it;    and  all   i)ersons  outside  tlu mpauy  could  he  forhidden  to  "  visit,  hunt,  fre- 

(juent,  trade,  trallic,  or  adventure"  therein.  For  all  this,  and  as  a  c(»nfession  of 
allejriance  to  the  crown  as  a  dependent  <-olony  and  province,  they  were^to  pay  an- 
nually as  rent  "two  elks  and  two  hiack  heavi'rs."  Cheap  rent  that,  espi'cially  since 
the  kin;;  or  his  a>;cnt  must  collect  it  on  1  e  urounil  of  the  eonqtany.  To  dwell  in 
the  territory  or  even  ^(o  across  it  would  he  as  really  a  trespass  as  if  it  were  done  on 
the  lawn  of  a  privati' gentleman  in  Middlesex  county,  MuKland. 

Such  were  the  chartercci  ri^ihts  of  a  monopoly  that,  f^rowin^  holder  and  more 
jrraspiu>r,  liecame  at  last  continental  in  sweep,  irresistihie  in  power,  and  ine.>coral)le 
in  spirit.  In  \>^-\  the  crowji  gnuited  to  this  and  the  Northwest  ('omi)any  united, 
and  for  a  term  of  twenty-one  years,  tlie  exclusive  ri>rht  to  trade  with  all  Indians  in 
liritlsh  North  .\merica,  north  .iii<l  west  of  the  I'ldted  States,  and  not  included  in 
till'  lirst  charter.  This  granted  ■nly  trade,  not  ownership  in  the  soil.  Tlum,  while 
the  chartered  territory  was  inn  crial,  it  Ki't'W,  hy  Ki'anted  monopoly  of  trade,  to  Ih' 
continental.  Hy  decrees  the  trappers  and  traders  went  over  the  rim  of  the  Hudson 
hasin,  till  they  reached  the  ,\rctic  seas  aloiij;  the  outlet  of  tliv  ('op|)ermine  and  the 
,Macken/ie.  They  set  heaver  traps  on  ^'ukon  and  Kra.ser  rivers,  around  the  .\th- 
ahasca,  Slave  and  ISear  liakes,  and  on  the  heads  of  the  Columhia.  l''rom  the  ad- 
jacent I'acillc  shore  they  lined  their  treasury  with  the  soft  coats  of  the  fur  seal  and 
the  sea-otter.  They  were  the  pioneers  of  this  trallic,  and  pressed  this  monopoly 
of  fur  on  tile  sources,  not  only  of  the  Mississippi  and  .Missouri,  hut  down  into 
the  Salt  Lake  basin  of  mo<lcrn  I'tah.  What  minor  and  rival  companies  stood  in 
the  way  they  hout;ht  in,  or  cruwIuMl  hy  umlersellinK  to  the  Indians.  I  ii'tividual  eii- 
terprlHe  in  the  fur  trade,  from  New  Koundlaml  to  N'ancouver,  and  from  the  lieud 
waters  of  the  'i'ellowstinic  to  the  mouth  of  the  Macken/ie,  was  at  their  mercy. 
They  practically  (ontrollcd  tlie  inlroduclion  (>f  supplies  and  llic  ouIkomik  of  fm> 
and  peltries  from  all  the  immense  region  lietweeii  those  lour  points. 

Within  the  Cunatla.s  ami  the  other  provinces  they  lield  the  Indian  and  the  I'lu- 
ropean  ei|iially  at  liay,  while  within  all  this  vawt  unorKani/.ed  wilderness,  their 
hand  over  red  and  while  man  was  alisolute.  \\  lirst  the  iinijianv  could  ko^"'''" 
as  it  pleased,  and  wa>  autocratic  and  irn'sponsilile.  Kyadi'.  mal  ii%Mslation  in  Isii:!, 
tlie  civil  ami  criminal  government  of  the  Camillas  was  made  to  follow  the  com- 
pany into  lands  outside  their  lirst  charter,  commonly  called  Indian  countries.  The 
(iovernor  of  Lower  Canada  liad  the  appoiutiiiK  power  of  olhcials  within  those 
couiilrics  hut  he  did  not  send  in  special  men;  he  iippolnlcd  those  cennectcd  with 
the  company  and  on  the  grouml.  The  coni]iaiiy,  therefore,  had  the  administration 
111  those  outside  districts  in  its  own  hands.  Thus  the  commercial  life  of  the  ('an- 
adas  was  so  dependent  upon  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company  that  the  (^-overnmcnt  could 


THK  KIVAL   FIK  fOM  I'A  MKS. 


173 


lit'  C'oiuitcd  on  to  |>i'oinot«^ ilie  wislu-w  of  the  compaii.y.  In  lirit-f,  tlic  uoveiiiinfut  of 
HritiHli  AiiuTimi  wiih  pnietically  the  Hu(lnon's  Hay  ("ompuny,  and  for  all  the  privl- 
lejTc  and  monopoly  whioh  it  enjoyed,  wiflioiit  seeniin^r  to  deiiiuiid  it,  tiuTi  wa.n  an 
.'iniiiial  |>aynu'nl,  if  railed  for,  of  "  two  elks  and  two  l)la<  k  lieavers." 

This  company  tiuis  l)ecanie  a  powerful  oruani/.ation.  Il  had  no  rival  to  sliare 
llie  Held,  or  waste  the  jtrolits  in  liliiiiition,  or  in  hloody  fends  lieyond  the  rei;ion  of 
law.  (  Hxeej)!  the  eon fsl  hetwi-ei.  'I  and  the  Northwest  (.'ompany  prior  to  their 
consolidation.)  It  e.xtt'iided  its  lini's,  multiplied  its  posts  and  airenls,  systematized 
loMunniucation  throujrh  the  immense  hunting'  jrrounds, 'mi/.cd  lime  and  funds 


hy  im-reased  expedition,  made  many  of  its  factories  really  i'.;  lllications,  a 


nd 


put 


tl:e  wholi'  northern  interior  under  IJrilish  rule,  and  yet  without  a  soldier.  Kivers, 
lakes,  mountains  and  prairies  were  covered  hy  its  afrents  ami  trappers.  The  while 
and  IIk'  red  men  were  on  most  friendly  terms,  ami  the  lurch  c-anoc  and  the 
pirojiue  were  seen  carryinn,  in  mixed  company.  Iiotli  laces,  and,  what  was  iiiore. 
their  mixe<l  proireny.  The  extent  of  territory  undir  this  company  seems  almost 
faliulous.  It  was  one-third  larifcr  than  all  Kuropc;  it  was  laruer  than  the  I'lntcd 
.■slates  of  to-day,  .Maska  included,  liy  half  a  ndllion  of  sip  la  re  n  dies.  I'mm  the  .Ameri- 
can heatlijiuirters  at  .Montreal  to  the  post  at  Vancouver  was  a  distance  nf  iwciily- 
live  hundred  miles;  to  l-'ort  .Selkirk  on  the  ^'ukon,  or  to  the  one  on  (ircal  Hear 
Lake,  It  wuh  thiee  thou.sand  miles,  and  it  waH  Htill  further  to  the  rich  fur  seal  and 
sea-otter  on  the  tide  wat<'rs  of  the  Mackenzie,  .lames  May  and  Red  l{i\i'r  at  Win- 
idpc^  seem  near  to  Montreal  in  comparison.  These  distances  would  cumpare  well 
with  air-lim-  naites  from  Washington  to  Duhlin,  or  (iihraltar  or  (^uito. 

On idemplates  this  power  with  awe  and  fear,  when  he  re^anls  the  even  mo- 
tion .-ini!  solemn  silence  and  unvarying  samene.ss  with  which  it  has  done  its  work 


throuu'h  thai  dreary  'inimal  counlrv.     It  has  h 


said  that  a  hundicd  years  has  not 
wants  the  same 


chan^red   its  hill  of  ^roods  ordered    Innn    London.     The  company 

Miuskrat  and  heaver  and  seal ;  the  Indian  hunter,  unimproved,  and  the  half-hreed 

iMiropean,  deteriorating,   want   the  same  cuiton  froods.  and    tiint-lock   ^uns,  and 


tolil 


I  and  K 


cw  -u:aw> 


To-dav,  as  a  hundred  vi'ais  airo,  the  do),'  sleil  runs  out   from 


Winnipeg  for  it.- solitary  drive  of  live  hundred,  nr  lwi>  thousanil,  or  even  three 
thousand  ndles.  It  glides,  silent  as  a  spectre,  over  these  -now  lields,  and  tliront,'!! 
the  solemn,  still  forests,  painfully  wanting  in  animal  life.  Kilty,  seventy,  un  luin- 
drctl  days  it  speeds  idon^,  and  as  nuiny  ni).dils  it  camps  without  lire,  and  liH>ks  i<i> 
to  the  same  cold  sijirs.  .\t  the  inter\  cinntt  posts  the  -Icd^re  make-  a  pause,  as  a  ship, 
haviiifjr  rounded  ( ','ipe  I  lorn,  heaves  to  liefore  some  lone  I'acitie  islaml.  It  is  the 
sanu- at  the  trader's  hut  or  factory  as  when  the  sleduemu./s  Kramlfalher  <lrove  np, 
the  mime  do};s,  the  same  half-hreeds,  ur  rui/ni/iuii,  to  welcome  him,  the  same  ft)Ul, 
loun^iii);  Indians,  and  the  same  mink  skin  in  exchati^re  for  tin' same  trinkets.  The 
furauimaland  Its  purchaser  and  hunter,  as  the  landscape,  seem  to  he  alike  under 
the  same  imnnitahle   .inproKres.sive  law  of  nature, 

"  .\  liinil  wIkti'  all  IIiIukh  iilwuyN  si'i'iii  llu'  Kitiiie,  " 

at*  amont;  the  lotus-eaters.  Unman  progress  and  Indian  ei\'ili/.ation  have  nunle 
scarcely  more  improvement  than  that  central,  silent  partiu'r  in  the  Hudson  s  Hay 
( 'ompany— till'  heaver. 

One  feels  towards  the  power  of  this  company,  moving  thus  with  eveniieHS  and 
immnlaliility  lhr<iii^di  a  liundre<l  years,  much  as  one  doe^.  toward-  a  law  of  nature. 
.\t  I'ort  Selkirk,  fur  I'xamplc,  the  lll'(y-lwo  nmulier-  of  the  weekly  London  /'nntx 
I'aine  in  on  the  last  sledge  arrival.  The  firsi  uuiuhcr  isalready  three  year!<old,  liy  its 
tedious  voyage  from  the  Thames.  Now  one  mnnher  only  a  week  is  read,  that  the  lone 
iradcr  there  may  have  fresh  news  weekly  until  the  next  annual  doK-inail  arrives, 
.iiid  each  >ueceHsi\e  nundter  is  lliree  years  liehind  li'.ie  when  it  is  opene<l!     In  this 


174 


HISTORY  OF  WILI^AMF.TTE  VAI,LP:T. 


(lay  of  steamers  and  telegraphs  and  telephones,  does  it  seem  possible  that  any 
human,  white  hal)itation  can  ho  so  outside  of  the  geoiiraphy  and  chronology  of  the 
world'.'  'The  goods  of  tlie  company,  packed  anil  sliip])ed  in  Fcnchureh  Street, 
leave  liondon,  and  at  the  cud  of  the  third  year  tliey  are  ilelivered  at  Fort  (^onlidence 
on  (Jreat  Kcar  I^ake,  oral  any  other  extreme  factory  of  the  company;  and  at  the 
end  of  three  yi'ars  more  tlu'  return  furs  go  up  the  'riiuines  ami  intt)  Fenchureh 
Street  again.  So  in  cycles  of  si.v  years,  and  from  age  to  age,  like  a  planet,  the  shares 
in  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company  nuike  their  orl)it  and  dividends.  A  run  of  three 
months  and  the  London  ship  drops  anchor  in  Hudson's  Hay.  "For  one  year,'' 
says  Jiutler  in  iiis  "(ireat  lone  Lantl,"  "the stores  that  slic  has  lirouglit  in  lie  in  the 
warehouse  at  Vork  Factory;  twelve  months  later  they  reach  Ued  Kiver;  twelve 
months  later  they  reach  Fort  Simps(»n  on  tlic  .Mackenzie." 

The  original  stock  of  tins  company  was  |.')t»,.sa».  Ln  tifty  years  it  wu«  tripled 
twice  l>y  prollts  only,  and  went  up  to  ^4.'")7,.'Wii,  while  not  out'  new  dollar  was  j)aid 
in.  In  isi'l  the  company  alisorlicd  llie  Northwest  I'ompany  of  Montreal,  on  a  hasis 
of  value  c(iual  to  its  own.  The  eonsolidale<l  stock  then  was  .s|,;)l(i,(MH),  of  whieli 
.'Jil,7M(i,s()i;  was  from  prolils.  Yet,  meanwhile,  there  had  iieen  an  annual  payment 
of  ten  per  cent,  to  stockliolders.  In  188(!  (jno  of  the  company's  ships  left  Fort 
(icorge  for  1/ondon.  Willi  !i  cargo  of  furs  valued  at  J:;!8(t,ll(Ml.  *  *  *  When 
the  Kiiglisli  »Hi\ernmenI,  in  ^s^(l,  coiui'ded  the  claims  of  the  I'nited  States  to 
Oregon,  property  of  the  Hudson's  May  Company  was  found  within  Oregon  for 
vliicli  thai  <'ompanv  claimeii  ii4,i(!H», ((,!(), (>7.  One  can  not  hut  admire  the  foresight, 
com|)ass,  policy,  lunl  ahility  with  whidi  tliose  Englisli  fur  traders  moved  to  gain 
possession,  an<l  then  keep  in  wilderness  for  fur-liearing,  so  mui'iiof  North  Anu-rica. 
*  *  rravelers  tell  us  of  an  oppressive,  painfid  silence  through  all  that 
weird  nortldand.  tiuadriiped  life,  and  the  scanty  little  there  is  of  Itird  life,  is  not 
vocal,  much  less  nuisical.  This  ,'ompany  has  partaken  of  the  silence  of  its  domain. 
It  makes  liut  little  noise  for  so  great  an  organization.  It  says  hut  few  tldngs.  and 
luily  the  mcessary  ones,  ami  even  those  with  an  ohscKty  often,  tluU  only  the 
interested  and  initiated  untlerstai:'i.  'I'lie  statements  of  .u  works  and  results  are 
mostly  in  the  passive  voice. 

Tlif  v(>yiio;('iii's,  s(»  often  spoken  of  in  (connections  with  the  fiU' 
eotnpjiiiies,  were  .i  s))eeijil  oiitorouth  of  the  fiif  tfiuh',  and  tire 
(leservino  of  more  than  a  ])asr:ini;'  notice.  Irving  tlnis  (U'scribes 
them: 

The  voyagcurs  may  he  said  to  h;i\'e  sjirung  up  out  of  I  he  fur  trie!",  tiaving  origin- 
ally lu'cn  employed  hy  the  early  l<'rench  nu'rchants  in  their  '.rading  expeditions 
through  the  lahyriiith  of  rivers  and  lakes  of  tic  iHtundlcss  interior.  In  llie  inter- 
vals of  their  long,  arduous  alid  lahorious  expeditions,  they  were  wont  to  pass  their 
time  in  idleness  and  revelry  aliout  the  trading  posts  or  settlements;  s(|uandering 
their  hard  earnings  in  hcetlless  conviviality,  and  rivalling  their  tieighhors,  the 
IndiaiiM,  in  '.ndolent  indulgeiicc  and  imprudent  disregard  of  lln>  morr<!W.  When 
Canada  passed  umler  lirilisli  domination,  an<l  the  old  l<''rench  trading  houses  witc 
broken  up,  the  voyagcurs  were  for  a  time  disheartened  and  disconsolate,  and  with 
dirticully  could  reconcile  themselves  to  the  servine  of  the  new  comers,  so  ditl'erent 
in  habits,  manners  and  language  from  their  former  employers.  Hy  degrees,  how- 
ever, they  became  accustomed  to  the  change,  ami  at  length  came  to  consider  the 
Hritish  fur  traders,  and  esjiccially  the  members  of  the  Northwest  Company,  as  the 
legifinuite  lords  of  creation.  Thedrosofthe.se  people  is  generally  half  civili/ed, 
half  savage.  They  wear  a  eapot  or  sureoat,  made  of  a  blaid<el,  a  strlja'd  cotton  shirt, 
elutb  truwsers  or  leathern  leggings,  moeeiwins  of  deer  skiu,aud  a  belt  of  variegated 


THE  RIVAL  FrjR  COMPANIE.S. 


175 


worsted,  from  wliich  are  suspended  the  knife,  toliaeeoijouch,  and  other  iniplciMonts. 
Their  lanjyimKe  isof  tlienanie  piolmld  cliaraeter,  l)eint;  a  Freneli  imtois,  enil)roidered 
with  Indian  and  Kn^Iisli  w<)r<ls!md  plirases.  Tlie  lives  of  the  voyafjeurH  are  passed 
in  wild  and  extensive  rovin^rs.  Tlu\v  .ire  ^fcnerally  of  Kreni-h  descent  and  inherit 
much  of  the  j?aicty  and  lightness  of  lieart  of  thch"  ancestors,  heiiif;  full  of  anecdote 
and  Honji,  and  ever  ready  for  t lie  dance.  'IMieir  natural  ^^ood  will  is  pr<)l)al)ly  hei^iht- 
ened  hy  a  connminity  of  adventure  and  hardshi))  hi  their  precarious  and  wanderinfi; 
life.  Thev  are  dexterous  hoatnu-n,  vi^'oroiis  and  ailroit  with  tlu'  oar  and  paddle, 
ami  will  ro\,'  from  niornin;;  until  nij,dit  without  a  murmur.  The  steersman  often 
sinffsan  old  traditionary  French  s(uik,  witii  some  re>?ular  Iturden  in  which  they  all 
join,  keepinjj:  time  with  tlieir  oars.  In  the  course  of  years  tliey  will  gradually  dis- 
Mi)pcar;  their  son^s  will  die  away  like  the  echoes  they  once  awakeiu'd,  and  the  Can- 
adian voya^eurs  will  liecoine  a  forjrotten  race,  or  rememhered  amon^  the  poetical 
images  of  past  times,  and  as  themes  for  local  and  romantic  UHsociations. 


Tlu-  Northwest  ('(»mj)any,  iu  IS'Jl,  prior  to  tlu*  c-oiisolidatioii, 
'stiiltlislied  a  post  oil  tlif  north  l»aiik  of  the  ( "oliiiiil»ia.  st-vcral  miles 
ala.v;  he  mouth  of  the  Willamette.  .\s  this  was  on  the  |H»iiit 
named   '■' Vaiicoiivei"   liy  Lieutenant    liroiin;htoii,  in  17'.**i,  the  p»»st 


as  elii'istenecj   "  Foi-t  \'aii((»iiver."'     In    lM*:i, 


)ii  after  tl 


le   eoH- 


)li(lation,  the   hea(lt|iiartei's  of    the   Hudson's   Hay  Company   was 


removed  from  l*'ort  (JeorLTc  tt)  l*\>rt  N'aneouver,  Iteeanse  it  possesse( 


the  (h'siralth-  features  of  such  an  estal>lishmeiit  more  fully  than  any 
other  in  this  whole  reirion.  It  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette 
and  the  efort-  the  center  and  natuial  convert^iuir  point  of  traj)piui!: 
partit's  comiuir  tlown  the  Cohuulii'i  from  the  vast  wihh'rness  to  the 
east,  or  with  t!ie  aiuiual  oNcrlaud  e.Kpress  from  Montreal;  from  the 
rich  trappiiiir  ,iri<»iiiids  to  the  south,  or  from  the  upper  coa-^t  and 
Piio'ct  Soiuid.  Agriculturally,  the  surrouiidiiiiiH  were  all  that  coidd 
l>e  desired,  to  I'aise  the  lai'Li'e  crops  (»f  <frain  and  ves^etaldes  re(piired 
at  all  the  Company's  posts,  and  to  fin-nisji  pasturage  for  the  heef 
ami  dairy  cattle.  It  wan  easily  .-ippi-oachalde  l»y  deep-water  ves.std,'* 
of  lafLfe  draft,  and  presented  e.xcelleiil  n;itural  facilities  fof  loading 
and  discharoinir  cargo.  The  vessels  that  came  at  stah-d  periods  to 
lii'ing  sup|tlies  and  (jirry  away  the  accumulated  fin-s,  c(»idd  spare 
the  few  days'  of  extra  time  re(piire<|  to  ascend  the  river,  Itetter  than 
the  employees  of  the  comp;uiy  ••ould  s|»are  it  in  passing  to  and  fr(»m 
lie.nhpiarters  in  flic  transaction  of  luisiness.  \'ancotiver  vvaw  the 
ni(»st  eligihle  site  on  the  Columhia  f»>r  the  chief  trading  jatst,  and 
remained  the  company'-  heaihpnirters  until  it  altandoned  this  region 
cutirelv,  in  |sr..s.  huring  the  next  foui'  years  the  company  spread 
t)Ut  in  all  direetiiMis,  from  (uliforitia  \Af  Alaska,  ami  front  the  I'iu:i||e 


17(; 


HISTORY  t)F  WILLAMKTTE  VALLKY. 


to  the  IJocky  Mountains.  Some  idvti  c-jin  l»r  i^ained  of  its  power 
and  nH'tlidds  in  Orciron  from  the  followinii;  desca-iption  given  by 
John  Dunn,  for  stxcn  \e:irs  a  el«'rk  and  trader  <»f  the  company: — 

l''<>rl  S'aiicoiivcr  is  tlic  trniiul  mart  aii<l  ri'udezvovis  for  tlio  coiiiimny's  trade  mul 
wrvants  (111  llic  I'atitii'.  Tliitlu'r  all  tlu'  furs  and  othor  articli-Hof  trade  collected 
m-st  ciltlic  Hockv  M"milaiiis,  fnim  ( 'alifornia  to  tlu-  lUissian  tcrritorit^s,  are  l)rought 
I'roiii  tlu'  several  oilui'  Imts  anil  stations;  and  from  tlu-nce  they  are  shi|)|)ed  to 
l'',ii;;lan<l.  'I'lullicr,  too,  all  the  piods  hron^rlit  from  KnKland  for  tralth;— the  variouw 
ariii'lfs  in  wouli'iis  and  (•(>tlons,  in  grocery,  in  liardware,  ready -matle  clothes,  oils 
and  paints,  ship  stores,  etc. — are  laniUd,  at'd  from  thence  they  are  distrihuted  to 
the  various  posts  of  the  interior,  ami  aloim  the  northern  shoies  liy  sailing  vessels, 
or  liy  lidals,  or  paek-horses,  as  tlu-  several  naites  permit  ;  lor  distribution  and  trafHc 
among  the  natives,  oi'  for  the  supply  of  the  eonii)any's  servants.  In  u  word.  Fort 
X'aneouvi'r  is  the  grand  emporium  of  the  company's  trade,  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains ;  as  well  within  the  ()icj:on  territory  as  lu'yond  it,  from  California  to  Kains- 
tchatka. 

The  tort  is  in  iliesliai I  a  parallelogram,  alioul  two  hundred  and  lifty  yards 

long,  l»y  one  hundre<l  and  llfty  hroail  ;  enclosed  l>y  a  .sort  of  wooden  wall,  made  of 
pickets,  or  larire  lieams,  lixed  tlrndy  in  the  ground  and  elosely  fitted  together, 
twenty  feet  hii^li,  and  strongly  secured  on  the  inside  liy  luittresses.  .\t  ea'h  angle 
there  is  a  hastion,  njouiiling  two  twelvi'-poiniders,  and  in  the  center  there  are  some 
I'ightecn-pounde.-  ;  liut  from  the  suhdin'd  and  pacltle  character  of  the  natives,  and 
the  long  alisenec  of  all  apprehension,  these  cannon  have  lieconie  useless.  The  area 
witlnii  is  divided  into  two  courts,  arouml  which  are  arrangeil  ahout  forty  neat, 
strong  wooden  huildings,  oiu'  story  hinh,  designed  for  various  purjioses — such  as 
olllecs,  apartments  for  the  ( lerks  and  other  ottlcers,  warehouses  for  fui-s,  English 
goods  and  other  commoilitics  :  workshops  for  the  diU'erent  meelianie.s--carpenters. 


hlacksUMths,  coopers,  wheelwrights,  tir.riers,  etc 


dl  of  which  there  is  the  most 


diligent  and   unceasing  activity  and  industry.      There  is  also  a  school-house  and 
<-liapel,  an<i  a  powder  inaK-a/.lne  ludlt  of  hrick  acd  stone. 

In  the  center  stands  ihe  go  erin)r's  rcsidern'c,  which  is  two  stories  high,  the 
(lining  hall,  and  .he  pulilie  iiti  ig  room.  All  the  clerks  an<l  otilcccs,  including  the 
cha|)lain  and  physician,  dine  lo^eiher  in  the  hall,  the  governor  presiding.  The 
dinner  is  of  Ihe  most  sulislanlial  kiinl,  consisting  of  several  courses.  Wine  is  fre- 
<|uenlly  allowed,  liut  no  Hpiriluons  lii|U<>rs.  Al'ier  grace  has  heen  said  Ihe  company 
hreak  up  ;  then  most  of  the  partv  retire  to  the  pulilicsittiii;.'  room, » .;!led  "  nachelor's 
Hall, 

reading,  or  telling  and  listening  to  stories  of  their  own  and  others'  curious  advent- 
ures.    Sometinu's  there  is  a  ureat  intln.\  of  company,  consisting  of  the  chief  tradv'rs 

from  the  outposts,  who  arrive  at  the  fort  on  laisiness,  and  tin n inlanders  of  vessels. 

These  are  gala  limes  after  dinner,  and  there  is  a  great   deal  of  amusement,  hut 
always  kept  under  strict  disci|tlliie  and  rcirulatcd  hy  the  strictest  nroprivty.     There 

a/',  or  a  lack  of  anecd<ite  or  intcrcHtinv;  ntirrrtlvc; 


or  the  smokliiK  room,  lo  amuse  themselves  as  they  please,  either  in  smoking. 


is,  on  no  occasion,  cause 


for 


or,  Indeed,  of  any  itdellectual  amuscmcnl  ;  for  if  smoking'  an<l  stoiy-le'  ing  he 
Irksome,  then  tin  re  is  the  horse  ready  to  mount,  ami  the  rille  pn  pared.  The  voy- 
agetir  and  the  irapper.  who  have  traversed  lliousands  of  miles  Ihroufzh  wild  and 
tinfre(|uenttKl  regions,  and  the  tnuriner,  who  ha«  circumnavigated  tin'  glohe,  may 
l)c  found  grouped  together,  smoking,  Joking,  singingand  story-telling,  and  in  every 
way  lianlshiuK  dull  care,  till  the  period  c-f  llnir  aKaiii  sell  ini'  out  for  their  respective 
di-Atlnations  arrives.  The  smoklii^  r<i.-m,  or  "  Maclieloi  s  Mall,"  presents  the 
appearance  of  an  armory  and  a  niusetnn.     .Ml  sorts  of  weapons,  and  dresses,  and 


THE  KIVAL  FUR  COMPANIES. 


177 


curiosities  of  civilized  and  savage  life,  and  of  the  various  inipleuients  for  tlie  prose- 
cution of  tlie  trade,  miglit  l)e  seen  tiiere.  Tlie  niediaiiics,  and  otlier  servants  of  the 
estal)lishnient,  do  not  dine  in  tlie  hull,  or  go  to  the  smoking  room. 

The  school  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  l>alf-l»reeil  children  of  the  oHlcers  and  servants 
of  the  company,  and  of  many  orphan  children  of  Indians  who  have  iieen  in  the 
company's  enii)Ioyment.  They  are  taught  English  (Honietiiiies  French),  writing, 
arithmetic  and  geography;  imd  are  suiise(|nently  either  apprenticed  to  traders  in 
C/'anada,  or  Itept  in  the  company's  service.  The  frojit  scpiare  is  the  i)lace  wliere  the 
Indians  and  trappers  deposit  their  furs  and  other  irficles,  uiul  make  their  sides,  etc. 
There  may  be  seen,  too,  great  numbers  of  men  sorting  and  packing  the  various 
g(K)ds,  and  scores  of  Canadians  beating  and  cleaning  the  furs  from  tiie  dust  and  ver- 
min, and  coarse  hairs,  previous  to  exportation.  Si.x  hundred  yards  b«'low  the  fort, 
and  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  there  is  a  neat  village  of  al)out  sixty  well-built  wooden 
houses,  generally  constructed  like  those  within  the  fort,  in  wliicli  the  mecharlcs 
and  other  servants  of  the  company,  who  are,  in  general,  Ciinadians  iind  Scotchmen, 
reside  with  their  families.  They  are  Imilt  in  rows,  and  present  tlie  aiijiearance  of 
small  streets.  They  are  kept  in  a  nei.t  and  orderly  nuniiiej'.  Here  tliere  is  an  hos- 
pital, in  widch  the  invalided  servants  of  the  comiiany,  and,  indt'ed,  others  wlio  may 
wish  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  are  treated  with  the  utmost  care. 

Many  of  the  otflcers  of  the  (U)mpiiny  marry  half-iireed  women.  They  discharge 
the  several  duties  of  wife  and  mother  with  tidelity,  cleverness  and  attention.  They 
are,  in  general,  good  housewives;  and  are  remarkably  ingenious  as  needlewomen. 
Many  of  them,  liesides  possessing  a  knowledge  of  lOnglish,  spt'ak  French  correctly, 
and  jOTssess  other  accomj)lishmenls;  and  lliey  sometiines  attend  their  husl)ands  on 
their  distant  ai  d  tedious  journeys  and  voyages.  'I'liese  half-lneed  v  omen  are  of  a 
superior  class  ;  being  the  daughters  of  chief  traders  and  factors,  and  other  persons, 
high  in  the  company's  service,  by  Indian  women  of  a  superior  descent  or  of  superior 
personal  attractions.  Though  they  j.enerally  dress  after  the  Knglish  fashion, 
according  as  they  see  it  used  by  the  Fjn;j;lisb  wives  of  the  superior  olticers,  yet  they 
retain  one  peculiarity— the  leggin  or  gaiter,  which  is  nuule  (now  linit  the  tanned 
(leer  skin  has  been  sui)ersededi  of  the  finest  and  most  gaudy  coloured  cloth,  beauti- 
fully ornamented  with  beads.  The  lower  classes  of  the  com])any's  .ncrvanls  marry 
native  women,  from  the  tribes  of  the  upper  country,  where  the  women  iue  round- 
lieiided  and  beautiful.  These,  too,  generally  sjieaking,  soon  learn  the  art  of  useful 
liousewivery  with  great  adroitness  and  readiness;  and  they  are  encouraged  and 
rewarded  in  every  way  by  thecomi)any,  in  their  ellbrts  to  ac(iuire  domestic  economy 
anil  comfort.  These,  too,  iinitat(>,  in  costume  the  dress  of  the  olllcer's  wives,  as 
much  as  the;,  can;  and  from  their  necessities  of  position,  wliich  exposes  them 
more  to  wet  ami  drudgery,  they  retain  the  moccasin,  in  place  of  adopting  the  low- 
i|uarfere(l  shoe. 

.Xttached  to  the  fort  there  is  a  magnilicent  farm,  consisting  of  altout  three 
thousand  acres,  (»f  which  lifteen  Innwlred  acres  have  already  been  brought  In  the 
highest  state  of  tillnge.  It  stretches  behind  the  fort,  and  on  both  sides,  along  the 
bunks  of  the  river.  It  Is  fenced  into  beautiful  corn  fields,  vegetable  fields,  orchards, 
garden  and  pasture  fields,  which  are  lnters|iersed  w  itii  ilaliy  Iiouhcs,  shepherds' 
and  herdHinen's  cottages.  It  is  plai'eil  under  the  nmsl  judicious  management;  and 
neither  expense  nor  la'iour  bas  been  spared  t<i  bring  it  to  tlu'  most  pi'rtect  (cultiva- 
tion. There  is  a  large  grist  ndll,  and  it  threshing  mill,  which  are  worked  by  horse- 
power, and  a  saw  mill  worked  by  water-power.  .Ml  kinds  of  grains  and  vegetables, 
and  many  species  of  fruits,  are  produced  there  in  abundance  and  of  superior  (pial- 
ity.  The  grain  croji.s  an  firoduced  withntii  rnanure;  and  the  wheat  crop,  espec- 
ially. Is  rei)resente(l  by  practical  fanners  to  be  wonderful. 

Besides  this  farm,  which  thej*  are  every  day  extending.  the,\    have  commenced 


178 


HISTOHY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


fitriiiinp  oi)  a  Inrve  waleon  tlic  Cowlitx,  to  the  north,  l'iii|M|ua.  to  the  south,  and 
in  other  |K»rt!«  of  the  territory,  where  tliey  liave  estaltlijilieil  |K«sfs»,  the  produce  of  all 
of  whicli  tliey  ur<<' for  ex|K)rtation  liotli  to  tlie  Russia  stations  in  Kanistchatka  (at) 
they  enter«-«l  intoa  ••ontntet  witli  the  Ilussiaiis,  in  ls.'l!i.  to  supply  their  |)osts  in 
those  regions  witli  pn>vis:  »ns  iit  lixcci  j)rices),  and  to  tlie  isliinds  of  the  Soutliern 
PaciHe.  an«l  lo  Itritish  and  Anu'rieaii  whalers  and  to  other  nierehant  ships.  They 
also  kwp  jw-on-s  of  woodH'utters  employed  to  fell  timber,  whieh  is  s:iw»'<l  up  in  lar^e 
quantities,  thrti'  thous4ind  feet  a  day,  and  regularly  ship|K-d  for  the  .Sanilwicli 
Islands  an.i  oJher  fonM^rn  ports.  And  as  they  can  atlord  to  sell  the  giMwIs  pun-hased 
in  Kn^larid  nnder  a  eontraet  of  old  HtandiiiK.  tofrether  with  the  pnHtuetions  of  the 
territor>'  a'mI  their  <»wn  farms,  llsli,  beef,  mutton,  pork.  tinilnT,  ete.,  at  nwirly  half 
the  Ameriean  pricv.  they  are  likely  to  enjyross  the  whole  tnide  of  the  I'aeitie.  as 
they  do  alresidy  the  trade  of  the  Orepin,  esjiecially  sinee  they  eonuiuind  all  the 
ports  and  sjife  inlets  of  the  <M)imtry.  This  the  Amerieans  fe«d  and  diM-lare;  an<l  it 
is  this  whieh  whets  their  eupidity  and  excites  tlnir  jealousy  and  hatn-*!. 

Trappinir  |>arties  leaving  \  imcouver  are  some  weeks  pre|utrint;  for  the  mountain8 
and  prairi»-s.  The  hiaeksniitlis  are  busily  en>faKe<l  makiui!  U-aver-trajis  for  the 
trapiKTs.  the  stor«*-keepers  making  up  articles  for  tiade  and  e<|uippini;  the  men.  the 
elerk  in  ehanreof  the  provision  store  packing  up  provisions  for  them,  to  last  until 
they  Ket  into  hunting  ground,  the  clerk  in  charge  of  the  farm  pmvidin^  horses  and 
ttther  re«|uisite  artit'les*.  The  party  nenerally  consists  of  alniut  fifty  or  sixty  men, 
most  ol  them  the  eonipany's  servants,  others  free  hunters.  The  s^-rvants  have  a 
statetl  sniary.  while  the  Ireenu'ii  receive  so  much  per  skin.  I'n-vious  to  leaving  the 
fort  for  the  aniuou<i  adventure,  they  are  allowed  a  small  <|uanlity  of  rum  |K>r  man; 
and  they  ^leuendly  enjoy  a  ^rand  holiday  and  feast  the  ni^ht  previous  to  starting.'. 
Kaeh  mat;  luis  a  ivrtain  number  of  horses,  sniliclent  to  carry  his  e<|uipment.  The 
free  tmp|HTs  (lenenilly  jirovidc  their  own  animals  Koth  the  <-«im|»jtny's  servants 
and  the  treenien  friNjiu-ntly  take  their  wives  and  families  witii  them.  The  women 
are  verj-  useful  on  the  ex|H-ditiou,  in  preparinjr  meals  ami  other  n«-i-essaries  for  their 
hu.sltand^  d'lrin^  (heir  aiiscucc  from  the  camp.  In  sununer  and  winter,  whether 
they  haNe  a  s«irt  of  traveliuj:  camp  or  a  (Ixcd  resideiu-e.  they  s«de«'t  (he  liM-aliticN 
that  mtwt  alHHinii  in  fkir-bearintr  iiniiiials.  ThoU);h  a  parly  nuiy  Im'  olili^'e<i.  from  a 
variety  of  ■'ireunistanc'es,  to  winter  In  the  plain,  or  iu  the  r('i'es.<<«-<<  of  the  mountains, 
or  on  the  Uiniers  of  lakes  and  rivers,  sonu' mmdiers  of  It  return  to  the  fort  in  the 
fall,  with  thi- ppxluc«' of  the  season's  hunt,  and  report  proftrcss.  and  return  to  the 
camp  with  a  n'infore«'nH>nt  of  necessary  supplies.  Thus  the  com|iany  an-  enaliled 
toaitpiire  a  ndnute  knowledge  of  the  <-ouidry  ami  nativt>s,  and  extend  their  (M>wer 
and  authoritv  over  iMith." 


• 


CHAPTER   \I1. 


DIPLOMACY  AOAIN  ENDS  IN  JOINT  OCCll'ATION. 

Claim  of  the  United  Stntt'»  t<>  the  i'tdaiiibid  Hirer  SpaKimxIic  ('lumid- 
eratioii  of  the  Oregon  Qttesfitiii,  in  Cmnjrt'HK — The  JinxKicn  I'kdse—- 
The  Monroe  Doctrine — Negot'iationx  in  lS'2^.—ChihnH  nf  the  f'nited 
States  Adrtineed  h;/  Mr.  Rnnh — The  OfipoKuxj  Vhi'nnx  of  Great  lirit- 
ain-  Hi pfif  of  Mr.  Rii.'ih  <ind  the  Knylish  ('oinni>.H.-:,,.iicr>>  in  Edch 
Other — Emjlainl  Rijeetx  Anierien'ti  (.{fer  if  the  Fiftij-jirst  PuralleL 
and  Propoxes  the  Forty-ninth  and  Cfdumhia  Piver — Hush  (fjf'erx  the 
Forty-ninth  to  the  Oeean — liejeeted  and  the  Ncgotiii.'in/i.'^  Terminate — 
Mr.  Gallatin  Sent  to  London  in  ISi^G— Offer  of  the  C'oitinibia  again 
made  hy  Fnijland  and  Hejectrd-  The  J)o<'trint  of  Confiyuity — The 
Spanish  Title  ax  M'ldifed  hy  the  JS'ootka  Convention  —  Trndiny  Poxt.<< 
Deelared  not  to  be  Settlements  hy  Mr.  Gallatin,  a  Ihelaration  which 
Becomes  a  lioomeranij  The  Period  of  Joint  Occii^mtinn  I  ndep'nitely 
Extended. 


DrRIX(i  all  tlu'Hc  years  the  (  h't'ofoM  iiiu'stioii  \\«s  iidt  iifj^flcctcd 
in  C'<>iiirn.-i.«.  It  was  spajsniodirally  disrusscd,  aii<l  iiimli  vox- 
n-spundciHT  w,»s  harl  In'tw^t'ii  tlu'  two  uovirnnicnts  on  tin-  «*iilijt.i't; 
l>ut  thoiiirli  iiiaiiy  th'mirs  wen'  ])r»>|»os('(l  at  various  tiiiu's,  imihiuir 
was  ui-tualiy  (loin-  t«>  proiuotc  Vnu'i'lcan  interests  in  Orej^on,  unless 
tlie  li-ave  of  altsenee  granted  Captain  Bonneville  he  eorisidi-red  us 
an  effort  in  that  direction.  Durint;  these  diploniatir  neuntiations 
the  I'nited  States  firnd\  maintained  her  claim  t<>  all  the  riylits,  of 
an\  natiire  what>>*M'Vcr,  which  Spain  may  have  posstssed  prior  to 
»he  Florida  Treaty.  She  also  nrii^ecl  that  the  month  of  the  Colum- 
hitt  wan  hei*s  Ity  the  dual  i'ii;ht  of  discovery  and  settlement;  and, 
therefore,  f(»llowinji'  the  jjeneral  rule  which  had  been  observed  by 
Kuropean  nations  in  eoU)nizing  America,  all  the  country  tributary 
to  that  river,  and  itn  confluents,  wni^  also  subject  t<^  her  dominion. 


180 


HTSTOKT  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


As  the  C'oluml»ia  ^wtt-ps  northward  to  the  fifty-first  parallel,  it  was 
iirir«'<l  that.  h\  \]\U  tith'  al«»iie.  the  <rovernmeiit  had  in<lis|mtal»le  riifht 
to  the  whole  r»*irioii  IviiiL'  l»etween  the  fortv-see<»n<l  and  fiftv-first 
dei;re«*s  »)f  latitude. 

In  1N'J«».  a  rc)niniitt«*e  was  appointed  ]\\  the  IIons«»  of  ReprH!«»iit- 
atives,  to  inijuin-  into  tin-  condition  of  the  s«'ttlenients  nn  th«*  Parifie 
Ocean,  and  tlir  cxiM-^licncy  of  oc<-U|»yini.'  the  Cohiinliia  Kiv«T.  Thb* 
resulttMl  in  the  r«'|v>rtinL'  of  .-i  hill  "for  the  oc«Mij>ation  of  the  fVduni- 
hia,  and  the  r»'<_Mdation  of  tin*  trade  with  the  Intlians  in  the  territn- 
ries  of  the  rnittHl  States";  l»nt,  thouirh  much  dis«*us!<<^l.  lM»th  then 
and  the  ensuinir  year,  the  nieasjire  was  never  pass«*d.  Th»*re  wen- 
several  plans  adv«K'at<N|.  anionir  theiii  lieiniLr  oiie  t«i  send  a  IkmIv  of 
troops  t'veriand  t«»  .M-eiipy  the  (lisj>uted  territory,  afid  another  to 
construct  a  chain  of  f«.rt^  acioss  the  continent,  whii-h  should  forui  a 
hasis  of  supplies  and  |>rote<'tion  for  eniiirrants.  The  irrvat  draw- 
hack  was  the  lack  of  eniii.Mants  to  he  su{)i»lied  and  protect*-*!.  The 
\fississippi  N'alley  was  still  hut  sjtaiNely  settled,  and  no  one  thoiit.rht 
(»f  ni«»vin<.'  two  thousand  miles  across  what  was  sup)>os«-4l  to  lie  a 
re!_don  of  nearly  impa>saMe  nuiuntains  and  alm<»st  interniinahle 
deserts,  when  the  rich  lands  of  Illinois,  ^Vis^•onsin  and  Iowa  wen- 
invitin^r  them  to  make  tlieir  home  in  thedtmiain  of  the  ••  Father  »»f 
AVateiv  ■ 

K>iS!<ia  stepiK"*!  in  :is  a  distiiihin<r  element,  hy  the  puh)ii*ation,  on 
the  sixteenth  of  Septendn-r,  l.S'21,()fan  im|H'rial  ukas«\  !»y  whii-h 
exclusive  title  wjis  a.ss<'rt«'<l  on  the  coast  j^n  far  south  as  latitude  .il**. 
and  all  for»-ijru  vt-sm-ls  were  prohihit*-*!  from  approachini;  within 
one  huntlr^-il  mih-v  ,.f  said  coast,  undei-  pen.-dty  of  «-onfiscation.  Pro- 
tests Were  iuNtanilv  enten^l  l.y  hotli  (ireat  Britain  and  the  rnift^i 
States.  Rtissia  ivplyintr  that  her  i-laim  was  li!is«'d  upon  dis«-«»ven-, 
exploration  an«l  uimuestioned  occupation  for  a  peri«Ml  of  tifty  years- 
Separate  netftiations  were  opened  with  Russia  hy  the  two  eonti-nd 
iiii;  jM»wers.  It  was  at  this  juncture  fliat  the  celehrated  Monroe  IKk-- 
trine  was  iii-st  enunciated  in  an  otlit  iai  document.  In  his  message 
to  CouLn-ess,  date«l  Oecemlier  •_',  \>^'2'-\,  l*r<si(|ent  Monroe  de<-larwl 
that  the  ".\mei-i,;in  continents,  l»y  the  free  and  independent  comli- 
tion  which  tiny  had  a>sumed,  were  henceforth  not  to  Ik-  considert^l 
as  suhjects  for  colonization  hy  any  I'luropean  |^twer."  This  ♦licitwl 
a  formal  proti-st  from  iHtth  England  and   Husijia.     Another  «J^ii- 


DU'LOMACY    AOAIN   KND.S   IN  .lOlXT  OCCUPATION. 


181 


iiK'iit,  which  wius  pffuliarly  offeiLsive  to  Kiii^luud,  was  a  paptr  sub- 
iiiitt«'(l  to  tht*  House,  on  the  si.xteeuth  of  February,  l'S24,  hy  Gen- 
eral Jes,su|»,  in  which  it  was  |troj>o!»eil  to  es^tablish  a  chain  of  fortn 
from  Council  liluffx  t«>  the  Pacific,  by  which  "present  protection 
wouhl  Ije  alTonhil  to  our  tra«ler>;  an<l  at  the  expiration  of  the  priv- 
ilege granted  to  Hritish  subjects  t«»  trade  on  the  waters  of  the 
('«tluinl)ia,  we  should  Ije  enal»le«l  to  remove  them  from  our  territory, 
and  t»t  secure  the  whole  trade  to  our  citizens."  This  suggestion  of 
a  pre})aration  to  e.vpel  her  sultjccts  from  ( )regon  l>y  force  of  arms 
was  exceedingly,  and  properly  so,  dista>teful  to  (rreat  liritain,  and 
dill  much  to  com}»licate  the  negotiations  which  had  been  already 
entered  into. 

The  ten  years'  limit  of  joint  occuj)ation  had  now  more  than 
half  expired,  and  it  bt-came  necessary  to  apj)oint  commissioners  to 
again  endeavor  to  affect  a  settlement.  .Mr.  Rush,  the  American 
comniissioner,  who  had  ln-en  an  associate  with  Mi'.  (Jallatin  in 
ai'ianging  the  treaty  of  1  sis,  asseit^il  that  liy  the  Louisiana  title 
the  United  States  had  undisputed  claim  a>  far  north  as  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel,  since  that  had  Im-cu  ivct>gni/.ed  Ity  the  Treaty  of 
I'trecht  as  the  boundary  line  between  the  possessions  of  France 
and  Kngland,  and  sliotdd  jnopcrly  be  extended  to  the  Pacific,  lie 
also  claimed,  under  the  Spanish  title,  as  far  north  as  the  sixtieth 
}iarallel,  tlu'  acknowledged  limit  of  the  Russian  possessions,  and  he 
declared  "the  I'iglits  thus  ac<piired  from  Sj»ain  were  regarded  ))y 
the  (Jovernment  of  the  L'nite<l  States  jis  surpassing  the  rights  of  all 
other  European  pt»wers  oii  that  toast."  A  third  claim  was  the  one 
outlined  ina  jirevious  paragraph,  bas«M|  tipon  the  (liscovery,  explora- 
tion and  occujtation  of  the  C't»luml»ia.  Assciting  these  three  distinct 
titles,  he  made  the  pioposition  that  no  futui'e  scttleiiu'nts  be  made  by 
subjects  of  (treat  liritaiu  s«.iith  of  the  tifty-tirst  degree,  nor  by  citi- 
zens of  the  I'niteil  States  north  of  that  j)aiallel.  Mr.  Rush  was, 
however,  authoiized  to  make  a  consideialtie  nioditication  of  that 
proposal,  since  his  letter  <»f  instructions  contiiined  the  following 
words:  "As.  however,  the  line  already  runs  in  latitude  4'.>"  to  the 
Stony  Mountains,  should  it  be  earnestly  insisted  uj)on  liy  (Jicat 
Britain,  we  will  cons«'nt  to  carry  it  in  continuance  on  the  same 
parallel  to  the  sea.'' 

'IMie  plenipotentiaries  of  Great   Britain   not   only   declined   the 


182 


lllsTt)UY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


proposals,  liut  (l('iii»'<l  in  (<•!<»  the  priiiciplt*  upon  which  it  ha<l  bt^n 
o(ft'i'<'(l,  fspccially  tilt'  idea  that  no  futuiv  i>»louizatiMn  in  America 
should  !»('  attfiii|»t('il  Ity  Knmpeaii  iiatiou?*.  They  iir>-L«r<tl  ;La*  oM 
unoccupied  pintions  of  America  weiv  .«ul»jei-t>  of  othmization, 
includini;  the  reuion  on  the  PaciHe  Coast  Ivinir  lieiwt^-u  the  fortv- 
second  and  Hfty-tirst  parallel.  They  declare*!  that  Gn-at  Britain 
could  not  c(»ncede  to  the  rnit»tl  Statt-s.  a?,  the  >utT-n*«»r  of  S|tain. 
those  exclusive  i'ii.dits  which  she  had  >uccesf*fully  iv>i«.te«l  when  they 
had  been  ad\anred  hy  Spain  lierM-lf.  and  which  tht-  N«Nitka  Conven- 
tion, in  ITlMt,  dedareil  should  not  In-  aduiitte«l.  They  al«<»  denittl 
the  title  hy  riijht  of  discoverv,  clainiinir  that  the  «li?<-oven-  of  the 
Colund)ia  was  a  pro>jressive  one.  partiripat«il  in  nioiv  c«»ns]»icuoUsly 
hy  British  suhjects  than  hy  Ain»*ri«-ans;  tluit  even  a<liuittinir  the 
discovery  bv  (irav,  In-,  heiiii:  :«  private  citizen,  omhl  n«»!.  luen-Iv  Kv 
enteriuLf  the  month  of  a  river,  train  title  for  hi*  < iov«-nini«-nt  to  the 
whole  coast  for  hundi-eds  of  miles  almve  an«J  U-Iow  that  |M>int. 
especially  since  the  roast  had  In-en  exploretl  prior  to  that  time  Ity 
an  official  exjteditioii  (Captain  CiM»k's)  of  (irvat  Britain,  and  a 
British  sul)ji'ct  (Sir  Francis  Drake)  hail  pun-hasei!  land  fr«ini  the 
nativi's  oidv  a  few  de<frees  south:  that  the  senhiuent  at  Astoria 
was  sulise(juent,  or,  at  the  hest.  oidy  ctieval.  t«»  >imil:tr  M-ttlenient»» 
made  hy  British  sr.l»jects  npon  that  stream,  or  \i\m'U  riv»-iv  flo\vin<.r 
into  it  (ei-roneo.isly  referrinir,  perha|*».  t«»  the  establi-hnn-nt  on 
Fraser  Lake ) 

To  this  tie  United  States  enihassador  replii^S  at  lenirth.  asx-rtiug 
that  Gray  sailed  under  the  tlat;  ami  protection  of  th»*  Feileral  (iov- 
ernment,  whose  rit-hts  folh>w«Ml  him;  that  he  tva-  unaware,  and  omld 
not  admit  the  fact,  of  any  prior  or  «.-onteni)Hiraneou:>  iiettlernvnt  l»y 
British  subjects  on  the  Colund>ia;  that  C«"»k  ha<l  l>e»-n  |«Tvii»^i.-«|  l»y 
Perez,  Ileceta  and  <^>uadra,  in  his  exploration  of  tlft  i>«jist:  and 
dosed  by  sayinir  that  "  in  the  opinion  uf  my  :r<»vemm»'nt,  the  title 
of  the  I'nited  States  to  the  whole  of  that  coa.-t.  from  latitude  forty- 
two  degrees  to  as  far  north  as  latitude  sixty  degrees',  wa>.  therefore, 
superior  to  that  of  (treat  Britain,  or  any  other  jjower:  first,  throuirb 
the  jiroper  claim  of  the  Inited  Stateis  l»y  dLscovt-ry  and  settlement, 
and  sec<»n(lly,  as  now  standinir  iu  the  place  of  S|jiain.  and  holding  in 
their  hands  all  her  title."  The  British  reply  tva.*  a  renewal  of  the 
former  objections,  especially  to  the  SpaiU:>h  title.  «ptvial  strtss  Wing 


DIPLOMACY    AGAIN  ENDS  IN  JOINT  OCCUPATION. 


183 


laid  on  the  fact  that  Enghind  never  had  admitted  the  exclusive  riglitn 
chiiiued  by  Spain  on  the  J*aciHc  Coast  of  America,  and  had  specifi- 
cally denieil  and  coiubatted  them  in  the  Nootka  controversy;  the 
voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  wjis  urged  us  giving  England  the  dis- 
covery rights  prior,  even,  to  the  earliest  claimed  by  Spain,  the  forty- 
eighth  degre«'  being  placed  as  the  northern  limit  of  his  voyage.  It 
was  also  denii-d  that  Spain  could  actjuire  title  by  simply  sailing 
along  the  c*tast,  and  not  following  up  her  discoveries  l»y  genuine 
acts  of  possession  and  settlement.  The  response  of  Mr.  Hush,  was  a 
denial  that  Drake  jtroceeded  beyond  the  forty-third  j)arallel,  and  a 
reminder  t<»  tin-  English  plenipotentiaries  that,  even  if  all  they 
claimed  for  Drake  were  triu-,  England  was  debarred  from  claiming 
title  through  him  by  the  rule  laid  down  by  them  in  the  matter  (»f 
Spanish  e.\ploiei-s,  since  the  title  thus  ac<|uired  had  not  Iteeii  per- 
fecte«l  by  acts  of  possession  and  settlement. 

Hy  these  successive  statements  and  answers  l»oth  sides  to  the 
(piestion  having  lieen  plainly  s«'t  forth,  the  repre-entatives  of  En- 
gland, rejecting  Mr.  Rush's  proposition,  made  another  prop<»sal — 
that  the  boundary  line  follttw  the  fortv-ninth  parallel  till  it  struck 
the  Columbia,  and  then  follow  down  the  nuiin  channel  of  that  stream 
to  the  ov-ean,  navigation  of  the  river  to  be  open  to  both  nations. 
This  was  submitted,  they  said,  in  a  ■»}»irit  of  compromise,  though 
thev  considered  that  in  s<»  doiiitr  thev  were  departimr  lari'elv  from 
the  fidl  extent  of  (Jreat  Britain's  rights.  Mr.  Uu>li  declare«l  his 
utter  inal»ility  to  accept  such  a  pro[tosition,  but  tliat,  actuated  by 
the  same  str«»ng  desire  to  etTect  a  c«)mpromise,  he  would  agree  to  the 
fortv-ninth  i)arallel  clear  throu<;h  to  the  ocean,  statiiii;  that  this  was 
the  extr«'ine  limit  of  his  .-luthority.  This  wjis  declined,  and  a.s 
neither  party  would  make  fin-ther  concessions  the  negotiations  came 
to  an  end. 

In  lS'Jt'»,  the  att(  inpt  r-t  settle  this  important  question  was 
renewed,  ami  Mr.  (iall  itiii.  vvaf  sent  to  London,  with  full  jiowers  to 
resume  the  discussion,  'ihe  otTer  of  tin-  forty-ninth  i)arallel  and  the 
Columbia  Kiver  was  again  made  by  the  British  Commissioners, 
with  a  sop  in  the  shape  of  a  slice  of  Wi'.shington  T«'rritory  south  of 
(iray's  Harbor  and  Hood's  Canal  thrown  in.  Mr.  Callatin  renewed 
Mr.  Rush's  offer  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel,  adding  free  navigation 


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184 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


to  the  sea  fi-om  all  branches  of  the  Columbia  lying  north  of  that 
line.  The  c-()m])lete  claims  and  offered  compromises  of  the  two  na- 
tions were  siil)mitted  in  written  statements,  and  were  published  in 
fidl  in  the  message  of  President  ^Vdams,  of  December  12,  1827. 
There  was  no  essential  difference  in  the  claims  made  by  the  con- 
tending parties  from  those  set  forth  al)ove;  they  wi-re  simply  urged 
in  different  language  and  with  a  better  understanding  of  the  sub- 
ject. Tlie  Louisiana  title  was  made  a  prominent  feature  by  Mr. 
Gallatin;  but  the  insuiJiciency  of  this  was  clearly  shown  by  the 
representatives  of  (ji'eat  Britain,  who  also  claimed  that  the  titles  of 
the  l'nite<l  States  and  Spain,  ^vhen  taken  separately,  Avere  imperfect, 
and  when  taken  togethei"  destroyed  each  other.  Mr.  Gallatin  also 
advauceii  th<'  doctrine  of  contiguity,  asserting  that  the  populous 
settlements  in  tlie  valley  of  t  iie  Mississippi  constituted  a  strong  claim 
to  the  extension  of  their  authority  "  over  the  contiguous  vacant  ter- 
ritory, and  to  the  occupation  and  sovereignty  of  the  country  as  far 
as  the  Pacific  Ocean."  This  was  asserted  by  the  British  Commis- 
sionei*s  to  be  the  doctrine  of  "  might  makes  right,"  and  to  be  wholly 
repulsive  to  the  principles  of  international  law. 

It  was  maintained,  and  with  much  justness,  by  the  English  ne- 
gotiators tluit,  since  the  Nootka  Convention  especially  declared  the 
right  of  both  England  and  Spain  to  either  of  them  settle  upon  and 
take  possession  of  any  portic^n  of  the  coast  now  in  dis[)ute  which 
had  not  been  pi-eviously  settled  upon  l)y  tlie  other,  the  previous 
rights  of  both  nations  acquired  by  discovery  were  thus  expressly 
waive*.!,  and  future  titles  were  made  to  depend  entirely  upon  acts  of 
possession  and  settlement;  thei'efore,  in  succeeding  to  the  Spanish 
title,  the  United  States  had  acquired  nothing  but  the  right  pos- 
sessed by  Spain  to  settle  upon  and  occupy  any  portion  of  the  coast 
not  already  in  the  actual  possession  of  Great  Britain. 

Mr.  Gallatin  denied  that  mere  fur  trading  factories,  or  posts, 
could  be  considered  settlements  such  as  were  necessary  to  perfect 
title  of  a  nation  to  an  extended  region ;  but  by  doing  this  he  dis- 
credited the  title  claimed  by  his  own  Government  by  reason  of  the 
estaldishment  by  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  of  a  post  at  Astor'a; 
also,  by  a  simple  process  of  reasoning,  of  the  discovery  title  claimed 
through  Captain  Gray,  since  that  gentleman  was  simply  a  fur  trader, 
and  was  not  engaged  in  a  voyage  of  exploration  or  discovery. 


Diplomacy  again  ends  i.v  joint  convention, 


185 


Not  being  able  to  come  to  any  understanding  upon  the  main 
(question  at  issue — a  definite  boundary  line — the  negotiations  were 
brought  to  a  close  in  1827  by  the  signing  of  an  agreement  indefi- 
nitely extending  the  period  of  joi..t  occupation,  making  it  termin- 
able by  either  party  upon  giving  twelve  months'  notice  to  that  effect. 
Thus  was  the  aid  of  time  again  invoked  to  furnish  a  solution  of  this 
vexatious  problem. 


m 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


FAILURE  OF  ALL  ATTEMPTS  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY 

THE  AMERICANS. 


Outlook  for  Joint  Occupation — Comparison  of  the  Advantages  of  the 
English  and  American  Traders — Character  of  the  American  Trap- 
pers—  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Methods  and  Servants — Growth 
of  the  American  Fur  Trade — The  American  Fur  Company — The 
Missouri  Far  Company — Ashley,  of  the  liocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company,  Penetrates  the  Rocky  Mountains — Method  of  Conducting 
Trapping  Enterprises — The  Annual  i^endesvous  —  Jedediah  S. 
Smith's  First  Overland  Journey — His  Second  Journey  Fraught 
•  with  Disaster — His  Adventures  in  California— His  Party  Massacred 
on  the  Umpqua—The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Recover  SmJth's  Furs 
and  Pay  him  for  Them — Gray's  Version  'f  this  Affair — The  Subject 
Discussed — Boston's  and  King  George's  Men — Dr.  McLaughliii's 
Account  of  this  Episode — McLeod's  Unfortunate  Expedition — 
Ogden's  Expedition  to  the  Humboldt  and  CaUfornia — Death  of 
Smith—Major  Pilcher  and  Ewing  Yoany — Hudson's  Bay  Company 
Establish  Fort  Umpqua  and  a  Headqnarters  in  California — Bonne- 
ville's Trading  Ventures — Tioo  Eff'orts  of  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  to 
Trade  in  Oregon  Result  Disastrously — McLaughlin's  Remarks  on 
Wyeth — Abandonment  of  Oregon  by  American  T' rappers. 


THE  great  power  and  firm  foothold  secured  iii  Oregon  by  the 
Hudson \s  Bay  Company  has  been  thus  minutely  described  hi 
order  that  an  adequate  idea  can  be  had  of  the  herculean  task  which 
lay  before  any  American  company  which  might  seek  to  compete  with 
it  in  its  chosen  field.  Joint  occupation,  as  contemplated  in  the 
treaties  of  1818  and  1820  was  only  possible,  on  the  principle  of 
the  lion  and  the  lamb.  Americans  cculd  live  in  Oregon  if  they 
would  permit  themselves  to  be  swallowed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company — not  otherwise.     The  chief  difficulty  which  lay  in  the 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AMERICANS. 


187 


pathway  of  American  traders  in  their  efforts  to  compete  with  the 
great  English  corporation,  was  a  lack  of  unity  of  purpose  and  com- 
bination of  capital  and  effort.  The  Americans  were  all  inde- 
pendent traders,  operating  alone  or  in  limited  partnerships.  Sepa- 
rately they  had  not  the  capital  to  carry  on  the  business  in  the  sys- 
tematic and  comprehensive  manner  in  which  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  operated.  There  was  an  utter  lack  of  system,  unity  of 
action  or  wise  provision  for  tlie  future.  The  trade  was  not  care- 
fully fostered  for  future  advantage,  since  none  of  them  cared  to 
build  up  a  business  for  some  one  else  to  enjoy,  but  each  sought  to 
make  all  the  immediate  profit  possible.  The  competition  among 
them  was  ruinous  to  all,  and  in  a  few  years  the  whole  trade,  so  far  as 
Americans  were  concerned,  was  ruined.  In  then*  competition  with 
the  English  monopoly  they  wei'e  at  a  fatal  disadvantage.  One 
unsuccessful  season  with  them  was  often  financially  disastrous,  while 
to  the  great  corporation,  covering  such  a  vast  scope  of  country, 
dealing  with  so  many  tribes  and  handling  such  varied  classes  of 
furs,  such  a  thing  as  a  completely  unsuccessful  year  was  impossible. 
Gains  in  one  section  compensated  for  any  losses  in  another.  For 
this  reason,  whenever  two  trapping  parties  met  in  open  competition 
for  the  trade  of  any  tribe  of  Indians,  the  Americans  were  at  a  dis- 
astrous <lisadvantage,  and,  except  in  the  few  instances  when  they 
outwitted  the  rival  trader,  were  forced  to  the  wall.  The  agent  had 
full  authority  to  use  his  own  discretion  in  such  cases,  his  only  in- 
structions being  to  Ci'ush  his  rival  at  all  hazards.  No  spectre  of 
bankruptcy  shook  his  bony  finger  in  his  face ;  no  vision  of  an  angry 
and  distrustful  partner  rose  up  before  him.  He  could  give  away 
every  dollar's  worth  of  goods  he  had,  and  receive  the  a[)proval  of 
his  superiors,  provided,  that  by  doing  so,  he  defeated  the  rival 
ti'aders.  On  the  contrary,  the  American,  his  entire  fortune  invested 
in  this  single  venture,  could  neither  afford  to  give  away  his  goods 
nor  to  lose  the  opportunity  to  trade;  for  often  it  was  the  only  one 
of  the  season,  and  to  miss  it  meant  ruin.  In  1815,  Congress,  in 
order  to  aid  the  struggling  traders,  passed  an  act  expelling  foreign 
trappers  from  the  territories  of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains;  but  it  remained  a  dead  letter,  since  brigades  of  the  En- 
glish trappers  continued*  to  roam  thi'ough  the  country  along  the 
Missouri  and  its  tributaries. 


^ 


188 


History  of  Willamette  valley. 


Candor  compels  the  confession  that  there  were  other  reasons  for 
the  success  of  the  English  and  utter  failure  of  the  American  tradei-s; 
and  these  were  the  great  difference  in  their  methods  of  treating  the 
natives  and  the  character  of  the  men  engaged  in  the  business.  The 
American  trappers  were,  to  a  large  extent,  made  up  of  a  class  of 
wild,  reckless  and  brutal  men,  many  of  them  fugitives  from  justice. 
With  them  might  made  right,  and  Indian  fighting  was  one  of  their 
chief  accomplishments.  A  perpetual  state  of  hostilities  existed 
between  them  and  the  Blackfeet  and  other  warlike  tribes.  They 
cared  nothing  for  the  interests  of  their  employers,  were  insubordi- 
nate and  quarrelsome,  and  the  histories  of  their  lives  and  adventures, 
written  for  the  glorification  of  the  few  of  the  most  noted  of  them, 
convince  us  that,  as  a  whole,  they  composed  the  lowest  stratum  of 
American  society.  Irving,  in  one  of  many  similar  passages,  thus 
speaks  of  one  phase  of  their  character:  "The  arrival  of  the  sup- 
plies gave  the  regular  finish  to  the  annual  revel.  A  grand  outbreak 
of  wild  debauch  ensued  amonj."  the  mountaineers ;  drinking,  danc- 
ing, swaggering,  gambling,  quarreling  and  fighting.  Alcohol, 
which,  from  its  portable  qualities,  containing  the  greatest  quantity 
of  fiery  spirit  in  the  smallest  compass,  is  the  only  liquor  carried 
across  the  mountains,  is  the  inflammatory  beverage  at  these  carousals, 
and  is  dealt  out  to  the  trappers  at  four  dollars  a  pint.  AVhen  inflamed 
by  this  fiery  beverage,  they  cut  all  kinds  of  mad  pranks  and  gam- 
bols, and  sometimes  burn  all  their  clothes  in  their  drunken  brava- 
does. A  camp,  recovering  from  one  of  these  riotous  revels,  j)re8ents 
a  serio-comic  spectacle;  black  eyes,  broken  heads,  lack  lustre  vis- 
ages." Alcohol  was  a  leading  article  of  merchandise,  and  the  annual 
assemblage  at  the  points  of  rendezvous  and  the  meetings  with 
Indians  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  were  invariabl}'  the  scenes  of 
drunken  debauchery  like  the  one  described.  Many  impositions 
were  practiced  on  the  Indians,  and  the  men,  being  iri'esponsible 
and  without  restraint,  were  guilty  of  many  acts  of  injustice.  The 
Indians  learned  neither  uprightness  nor  morality  from  contact  with 
them,  and  had  respect  only  for  their  bravery. 

The  revei-se  was  the  case  with  the  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  who  were  men,  chiefly  half-breeds  and  descendants  of 
the  French  settlers  of  Canada — the  agents 'and  factors  being  gener- 
ally of  Scotch  nativity-irwho  had  been  reared  to  the  business,  as 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AMERICANS. 


189 


had  been  their  fathers  before  them,  and  cheei-fvilly  submitted  to  the 
rigid  discipline  maintained  by  the  company.  It  Wius  the  company's 
policy  to  avoid  all  trouble  with  the  natives,  to  whom  they  gave  no 
li(pior  whatever.  It  was  by  pandering  to  the  Indian's  proverbial 
thirst  for  "fire-Avater"  that  the  Americans  occasionally  defeated 
their  op])onents  in  (lompetition  for  the  trade  of  a  tribe;  still,  it 
sometimes  happened  that  after  the  noble  red  man  had  been  hilari- 
ously and  even  pugnaciously  drunk  for  a  week  on  American 
alcohol,  they  sobered  up  sufficiently  to  sell  their  furs  to  the  English 
trader,  who  could  offer  them  such  a  gi'eater  quantity  of  goods  in 
exchange,  and  left  their  bibulous  friends  to  mourn.  By  just  and 
generous  treatment  the  company  sought  to  bind  the  Indians  to  them 
by  a  community  of  interest;  yet  an  act  of  bad  faith  or  treachery 
was  never  permitted' to  go  unrebuked.  By  this  means  it  obtained 
an  influence  among  the  tribes  covering  a  region  over  a  thousand 
miles  square,  which  amounted  almost  to  the  authority  of  govern- 
ment; and  this  influence  was  sufficiently  powerful  to  cause  the 
Indians  of  some  tribes  to  not  only  refuse  to  trade  with  Americans, 
but  to  decline  selling  them  provisions  when  in  the  greatest  distress. 
Bonneville  found  this  to  be  the  case  when  he  undertook  the  experi- 
ment of  joint  occu]»ation,  and  sought  to  do  business  in  Oregon, 
the  chosen  field  of  the  great  monopoly. 

The  rise  and  growtli  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  Northwest  Com- 
panies have  been  traced  till  they  united  and  spread  like  an  octopus 
over  the  whole  We^^.  Let  us  also  trace  the  growth  of  American 
fur  enterprise  until  .u  began  to  enter  Oregon  in  competition  with  the 
united  rivals.  In  1762  the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  then  a  Province 
of  France,  chartered  a  fur  company  under  the  title  of  "  Pierre 
Legueste  Laclede,  Antoine  Maxan  &  Co."  The  following  year 
Laclede  established  Fort  St.  Louis,  where  now  the  great  city  of  that 
name  stands,  and  this  became  the  headquarters  of  the  fur  trade  as 
carried  on  by  the  French  of  Louisiana.  At  that  time  the  Canadian 
representatives  of  France  had  their  general  headquarters  at  Macki- 
naw and  Montreal ;  but  Canada  becoming  a  British  Province  the 
following  year,  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  chiefly  Scotchn  en,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  fur  trade  of  that  region.  After  the  Unitec^  States 
became  a  nation,  American  traders  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  along 
and  west  of  the  great  lakes,  Mackinaw  becQming  their  general  head- 


il 


■■'?f 

'la 

m 

'0 


190 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


quarters.  These  men  were  chiefly  New  York  merchants,  the  lead- 
ing spirit  ])eing  John  Jacob  Astor,  whose  ill-fated  attempt  to  found 
an  establishment  at  tlie  month  of  the  Columbia  has  been  related. 
The  trade  as  then  carried  on  ran  in  four  great  belts.  To  the  north 
was  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  next  came  the  young  and  ag- 
gressive Northwest  Company;  south  of  them  the  independent 
American  traders  operated ;  and  still  further  south  was  the  field  oc- 
cupied by  the  P^vnch.  How  the  two  English  companies  became 
consolidated  and  spread  out  over  the  whole  region  north  of  the 
Missouri  and  gained  complete  possession  of  Oregon,  has  been  fully 
set  forth. 

The  next  step  was  the  substitution  of  Americans  for  Frenchmen 
at  St.  Louis,  the  natural  result  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  by  the 
Laiited  States.  Immediately  following  this  event  St.  Louis  became 
the  goal  of  thousands  of  young  men  who  loved  the  excitement  and 
adventures  of  a  frontier  life,  and  of  as  many  more  of  all  ages  who 
preferred  the  obscurity  of  the  frontier  to  the  seclusion  of  a  state's 
prison  or  the  notoriety  of  a  public  execution.  To  say  the  least,  the 
society  of  that  frontier  city  was  far  from  choice.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  Americans  began  to  be  in  a  majority  in  the  various 
brigades  of  trappers  which  roamed  the  plains  as  far  west  as  the 
biuse  of  the  Kocky  Mountains,  while  the  direction  of  these  enter- 
prises fell  almost  entirely  into  their  hands.  The  French  trappers, 
however,  never  entirely  disappeared,  for  their  names  are  found  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  all  narratives  concerning  the  trapping  frater- 
nity. They  have  generally  been  confounded  with  the  voyageurs 
and  trappers  of  French  descent  who  formed  the  bulk  of  the  ordinary 
servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  but  this  is  an  error,  since 
the  latter  were  the  Canadian  French,  who  had  transferred  their 
allegiance  to  the  British  conquerors  and  successors  of  their  old  em- 
ployers, while  the  former  were  the  descendants  of  the  French  of 
Louisiana,  and,  consequently,  were  Americans. 

The  act  of  Congi'ess  in  1815,  expelling  British  subjects  from  the 
territories  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  served  to  stimulate  the 
American  traders.  The  American  Fur  Company,  at  the  head  of 
which  was  Mr.  Astor,  then  operating  in  the  lake  region  from  Mack- 
inaw, began  to  send  trapping  parties  further  west,  reaching  the 
headwaters  of   the   Mississippi  and   Missouri.      Other   American 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AMERICANS. 


191 


traders  opened  tin  important  trade  between  St.  Louis  and  Santa  Fe, 
tlie  latter  becoming  head(iuarters  for  the  fur  business  in  the  region 
of  New  Mexico,  then  a  I^'ovinee  of  Mexico.  Up  to  this  time  the 
()])erations  of  American  trappers  had  not  extended  })eyond  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mt)untaitis,  except  in  the  instance  previously  men- 
tioned, that  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company.  This  was  a  company 
organized  at  St.  Louis  in  18()H,  stinndated  by  the  reports  of  the 
Columbia  region  brought  in  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  was  headed 
l)y  Manuel  Lisa,  a  Spaniard.  Mr.  Henry,  a  partner,  established 
Fort  Henry  the  same  year,  on  Lewis,  or  Snake,  River,  just  west  of 
the  summit  of  the  mountains,  and  other  posts  were  founded  on  the 
Upper  Missouri.  Two  years  later,  however,  these  were  abandoned, 
owing  to  a  failure  of  su[)plies  and  the  hostility  of  the  natives.  The 
next  effort  was  made  by  General  W.  H.  Ashley,  who  had  long  been 
the  leading  spirit  in  such  enterprises  at  St.  Louis,  and  was  the  senior 
partner  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company.  In  1 823  he  led  a 
partv'  of  trapper's  up  the  Platte  to  the  Sweetwater,  f(jllowed  up  the 
latter  stream  to  its  source,  discovered  the  famous  South  Pass  (the 
one  Fremont  endeavored  to  appropriate  to  himself  twenty  years 
later),  explored  the  headwaters  of  the  Colorado,  or  Green,  River, 
and  retiu-ned  to  St.  Louis  in  the  fall.  The  next  year  he  again 
entered  the  mountains  and  discovered  Great  Salt  Lake  and  Lake 
Ashley.  On  the  later  he  established  Fort  Ashley,  and  leaving  one 
hiuidred  men  at  that  post,  returned  to  St.  Louis.  From  that  time 
the  Rocky  Mountains  were  the  favorite  trapping  grounds  of  the 
Americans.  Their  method  of  doing  business  was  by  no  means  sys- 
tematic. Each  company,  Avhen  there  were  rivals,  organized  several 
brigades  of  trappers,  sufficiently  strong  to  protect  themselves  from 
hostile  Indians,  and  sent  them  out  in  various  directions,  generally 
under  the  leadership  of  an  interested  partner.  Once  a  year  these 
parties  assembled  at  a  previously  designated  rendezvous,  generally 
on  Green  River,  where  a  settlement  was  made.  There  they  met  the 
partner  who  was  the  connecting  link  between  them  and  civilization, 
such  as  it  was,  at  St.  Louis.  He  had  come  up  with  a  train  of  sup- 
plies and  packs  of  goods  for  the  Indian  trade,  and  turning  these 
over  to  his  partners,  he  loaded  his  train  with  the  accumulated  fiU's 
and  conveyed  them  to  market  at  St.  Louis.  Often  furs  were  sent 
down  the  Miss(  »uri  in  a  nondescript  boat,  ;nade  of  bufEalo  skins — a 


lit 


P4 


192 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


craft  of  eccentric  unrelia})ility.  AVith  the  supplies  was  invariably  a 
liV)eral  quantity  of  alcohol.  Whisky  was  too  bulky  to  carry,  and 
as  the  palates  of  the  trappers  and  Indians  were  none  too  refined, 
sour  mash  and  bourbon  were  omitted  from  the  wine  list.  There 
was  plenty  of  water  at  hand  and  the  spirits  could  be  easily  diluted 
to  any  strength  recpiired,  though  there  were  not  a  few  who  scorned 
to  spoil  their  drink  by  putting  water  in  it.  Frecpiently  two  or  three 
rival  bauds  of  trappers  assembled  at  the.  same  rendezvous,  and  it  was 
not  unsel(K)m  that  a  thousand  white  men  and  two  or  three  thousand 
Indians  were  in  camp  at  one  time.  The  a})pearance  of  the  train 
from  St.  Louis  was  invariably  followed  by  one  of  those  wild 
debauches  described  above  by  Irving,  the  greatest  excesses  being 
committed  by  the  free  tra})pers,  those  who  had  been  the  longest  in 
the  business  and  had  abandoned  all  thought  of  any  other  existence 
than  the  free  and  untrammeled  life  of  the  mountains.  These  men 
worked  iov  themselves,  receiving  a  stipulated  price  for  all  the  furs 
taken  by  them.  In  return  for  a  contract  given  by  them  to  sell  all 
their  furs  to  the  company,  they  were  allowed  almost  unlimited 
credit,  which  they  exercised  as  freely  as  it  was  offered.  Their 
heaviest  expenditures  were  for  spirits,  horse,  gun,  traps,  clothing, 
and  gaudy  adornments  of  every  kind  for  their  Indian  women,  of 
whom  each  possessed  at  least  one.  It  not  infi'equently  happened 
that  in  a  lew  days  their  reckless  excesses  and  their  heedless  gener- 
osity to  their  fair  ones  not  oidy  exhausted  their  balance  with  the 
company,  but  ran  up  such  an  enormous  bill  of  credit  that  their  labor 
for  a  year  was  pledged  in  advance.  When  it  is  known  that  some 
of  these  men,  when  employed  on  a  salary,  received  as  high  as  two 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  the  full  extent  of  their  extravagance  will 
1)6  better  undei-stood.  That  is  a  large  sum  to  expend  in  two  or 
three  weeks  for  spirits  and  gewgaws. 

In  1825  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  dispatched  Jede- 
diah  S.  Smith  into  the  country  west  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  witli  a 
party  of  forty  men.  He  discovei'ed  Humboldt  River,  which  he 
named  "  Mary's  River "  in  honor  of  his  Indian  wife,  so  the  old 
trappers  testify,  and  following  down  that  stream  crossed  the  SieiTa 
Nevada  Mountains,  arriving  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  in  July. 
This  was  undoubtedly  the  first  overland  journey  to  California,  not- 
withstanding that  Cronise  speaks  of  American  trappers  appearing 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AMERICANS. 


193 


there  as  early  as  1820,  He  gives  no  authority  for  tlie  statement, 
and  there  is  no  record  of  any  other  party  liaving  jx'netrated  so  far 
west;  the  context,  also,  shows  that  he  confoun(h'd  these  supposi- 
tious early  trappers  with  a  portion  of  Smith's  i-ouipaiiy  which  he  left 
behind  him  when  lie  returned.  Smith  had  good  success,  and  leav- 
ing the  majority  of  liis  company  to  continue  theii"  o])ei'ation8,  he 
returned  to  the  general  rendezvous  on  (Ireen  Ri\er.  He  crossed 
the  mountains  on  his  hoiaeward  journey  in  the  \  icinity  of  Mono 
Lake,  discovering  large  deposits  of  placei-  gold  in  that  region,  spec- 
imens of  which  he  took  with  him  to  exhibit  tt>  his  enij)loyers  on 
Green  Rivt  r.  General  Ashley,  having  made  a  fortune,  was  then 
ready  to  retire  from  active  participation  in  the  business.  He  there- 
fore sold  his  interests  in  the  llocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  to 
William  Sublette,  Jedediah  S.  Smith  and  David  .lackson.  Smith 
again  started  for  California  in  the  spring  of  1H2(),  to  rejoin  the 
party  he  had  left  thei'e,  of  whose  success  he  and  his  partners  enter- 
tained high  hopes.  It  was  his  purpose  tojnake  a  thorough  inspec- 
tion of  the  gold  placers,  tra[)  through  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and 
with  his  whole  party  return  to  Green  River  to  participate  in  the 
annual  meeting  the  following  summer.  In  his  journey  he  passed  as 
far  south  as  the  Colorado  River,  and,  at  some  point  on  that  stream, 
his  party  was  attacked  by  Indians,  who  killed  all  except  Smith, 
Turner  and  Galbraitli.  Those  three  escaped  to  Mission  San  Ga- 
briel, and,  notwithstanding  their  forlorn  and  distressed  condition, 
were  arrested  as  filibusters  by  the  panicy  Mexicans  and  sent  to  San 
Diego.  At  that  point  there  happened  to  be  several  American  ves- 
sels, whose  officers  signed  a  certificate  that  Smith  was  simply  a 
peaceful  trader  and  possessed  a  passport  h'om  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs  of  the  United  States.  The  certificate  bears  date  of 
December  20,  1820,  and  was  potential  to  procure  the  release  of  the 
[)risoners.  He  then  proceeded  to  hunt  for  the  men  he  had  left  the 
year  before,  and  found  them  in  camp  on  the  x\m<^rican  River,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Folsom,  their  residence  there  leading  to  the  bestowal 
of  that  title  upon  the  stream.  It  was  his  purpose  to  r.iturn  by  way 
of  the  Columbia  River,  but  that  season  was  one  of  unusual  snows 
and  ftoods,  and  he  was  unable  for  a  long  time  to  leave  the  valley. 
His  movements  are  somewhat  uncertain,  but  are  partially  revealed 
in  the  following  letter,  written  by  him  to  J"'ather  Duran.      The 


11)4 


H18T0KY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Meximiis  were  uneasy  ahoiit  the  intentions  of  this  party  of  armed 
Americans,  and  the  wortliy  Father  wrote  liim  a  letter  asking  for 
information.     Smith  rej)lie(l: — 

Hkvkhkxd  Kathkk.— 1  iiiuhMHtiiiul,  through  thenie<liuni  of  some  of  your  Chris- 
tian Indians,  tiiat  you  areanxiouH  to  Itnov/  wi>o  we  are,  as  some  of  the  Indians  have 
heen  at  tlie  luiHyion  and  informed  you  tiuit  there  were  certain  wliite  people  in  the 
country.  We  are  Americans  on  our  Journey  to  the  lUver  Columbia  ;  we  were  in  at 
the  Mission  San  (ial)riel  in  January  last.  I  went  to  .San  Diefjoand  sjiw  the  general, 
and  pot  a  passjjort  from  him  to  pass  on  to  that  place.  I  have  made  several  efforts 
to  cross  the  mountains,  but  the  snows  being  so  deep,  I  could  not  succeed  in  getting 
over.  I  returned  to  this  place  (it  l)eing  the  only  point  to  kill  meat),  to  wait  a  few 
weeks  until  the  snow  melts  so  Hint  I  can  go  on  ;  the  Indians  here  also  being  friendly, 
I  consider  it  the  most  safe  point  for  me  to  remain,  until  such  time  as  I  can  cross  the 
mountains  with  my  horses,  having  lost  a  great  many  in  attem]>ting  to  cross  ten  or 
fifteen  days  since.  I  am  a  long  ways  from  home,  and  «■..  nnxious  to  get  there  as 
soon  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit.  'Jur  situation  is  «iuite  unplea.sant,  l)eing 
destitute  of  clothing  and  most  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  w  ild  meat  beingour  principal 
.subsistence.  1  am.  Reverend  Father,  your  strange  but  real  friend  and  Christian 
brother.  "  J.  S.  SMITH. 

May  19th,  1S27. 


Soon  after  this  correspondence  Smith  started  nortliward,  crossing 
to  the  coa.st  in  the  vicinity  of  Russian  River.  He  continued  along 
the  coast  to  the  Umpciua,  and  ^vhile  ferrying  his  effects  across  the 
stream  on  a  riidely  constructed  raft,  his  party  wa.s  attacked  by 
Indians,  witii  whom  they  were  holding  friendly  intercourse,  and  all 
but  three  were  slain.  Smith,  Daniel  Prior  and  one  of  the  Indians 
were  on  the  raft  at  the  time  of  the  attack,  and  when  the  signal  yell 
was  given  the  savage  sprang  into  the  water  Anth  Smith's  gun  in  his 
hand;  but  he  never  lived  to  enjoy  his  prize,  for  Smith  seized  his 
companion's  rifle  and  buried  a  bullet  in  the  Indian's  brain  the  in- 
stant his  head  appeared  above  water.  The  two  men  landed  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  stream  and  succeeded  in  making  their  way  to 
Vancouver,  where  they  received  a  warm  and  sympathetic  welcome. 
The  officers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  would  have  done  their 
utmost  to  have  ruined  his  business  had  he  come  into  their  field  with 
a  band  of  trappers ;  but  one  in  his  pitiable  condition — his  followers 
massacred  and  his  furs  and  accoutrements  i)lundered — could  only 
excite  their  deepest  sympathy.  A  few  days  later  a  third  man  made 
his  appearance,  more  forlorn,  if  possible,  than  the  others.  This  was 
Richard  Laughlin,  who  was  in  camp  at  the  time  of  the  attack,  and 
had  seized  a  burning  brand  from  the  fire,  with  which  he  rained 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  TIIK  AMKKRA.V.S. 


195 


scorching  blows  upon  the  nuked   Uodics  of  liis  jissaihints  until   he 
cleared  a  passage  for  himself  and  escaped. 

It  vva.s  deemed  necessary  hy  the  officers  of  the  company  to  chas- 
tise the  Indians  who  had  l)een  guilty  of  this  unprovoked  outrage, 
as  a  warning  to  other  trihes  who  might  fi-el  encouraged  to  pounce 
down  upon  unwary  bands  of  trappers;  besides,  the  furs  stolen  were 
exceedingly  valuable  and  ought  to  be  recovered.  It  happened  that 
Governor  Sim])S(»n  was  at  Fort  Vancouver  at  the  time  Smith  arrived 
in  such  a  forlorn  condition,  and  he  sent  out  a  party  under  "''  )mas 
McKay,  to  jiunish  the  Indians  and  recover  the  captured  propci  ty, 
l)oth  as  a  necessary  step  to  maintain  the  company's  authority  and 
as  an  act  of  courtesy  to  the  despoiled  trader.  Accounts  '  jjy  tis  to 
the  degree  of  punishmfnt  inflicted,  but  at  all  events  the  fiu's  \\  ere 
recovered  and  conveyed  to  Vancouver,  and  since  he  could  noi  cairy 
them,  havinj^  no  means,  and  since  the  company,  from  a  business 
point  of  view,  could  not  afford  to  provide  him  with  facilities  for 
caiTying  on  opposition  to  it,  he  sold  the  whole  lot  to  the  company 
for  $40,000.  They  were,  to  be  sure,  worth  more  in  St.  Louis,  but 
under  the  cii'cumstances,  this  was  a  fair  price  for  them  on  the 
Columbia.  The  most  detailed  account  t)f  this  incident  is  given  by 
Rev.  GiLstavus  Hines,  who  received  the  facts  from  Dr.  McLoughlin 
in  person.  Gray's  History  of  Oregon,  a  rabid  anti-Hudson's  Bay 
Company  volume,  seriously  (piestions  the  correctness  of  these  state- 
ments.    It  says: — 

The  property  was  recovered  from  the  Indians  by  giving  them  presents  of  blank- 
ets and  powder,  and  such  things  as  the  Indians  wished,  a.s  stated  to  us  by  a  Frencli- 
man,  a  servant  of  the  company,  wlio  was  one  of  McKay's  party  tiiat  went  to  get 
the  furs.  They  found  no  bodies  to  bury,  and  had  no  fight  witli  the  Indians  about 
the  projMirty,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Sniitli,  also.  But,  as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
tells  the  story,  through  Mr.  Hines,  they  spread  terror  throitf/h  the  tribes.  *  *  * 
Mr.  Hines  says  his  Umpqua  party  returned  in  triumph  to  Vancouver!  And  well 
they  raight,  for  they  had  made  the  best  season's  hunt  they  ever  made  in  getting 
those  furs  and  the  property  of  Smith,  which  paid  them  well  for  the  expedition,  as 
there  was  no  market  for  Smith,  except  in  London,  through  the  hypocritiml_  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  Simpson.  By  this  time  Mr.  Smith  had  learned  all  he  wished  to  of  this 
company.  He  preferred  giving  them  his  furs  at  their  own  price  to  being  under 
further  obligations  to  them.  Mr.  Sublette,  Mr.  Smith's  partn<;r,  did  not  speak  as 
though  he  telt  under  much  obligation  to  Mr.  Simpson  or  the  Hudsons  Bay  Com- 
pany, which  was  not  long  aftc-  the  transaction  referred  to.  I  do  not  know  how  the 
company  regard  these  sta.tements  of  Mr.  Hines,  yet  I  regard  them  as  true  so  far  as 
Mr.  Hines  is  concerned,  but  utterly  false  as  regards  the  company.  *  *  * 
According  to  the  testimony  given  in  the  case  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  v. 
United  States,  the  amount  of  furs  seized  by  the  company  at  that  time  was  forty 


190 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


packs,  worth  at  the  time  $1,000  each,  besides  the  animals  and  equipments  belonging 
to  the  party,  a  larfie  portion  of  wliich  was  given  to  the  Indians  to  compensate  them 
for  the  services  rendered  tlie  company  in  destroying  Smith's  expedition  and  killing 
his  men." 

It  is  a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  above  to  state  that  the  author 
is  a  nion(»nianiae  on  the  sul)jec't  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and 
the  Catholics,  resultinir  from  the  religious  struggle  between  rival 
missionary  establishments,  with  one  of  wliich  lie  was  connected. 
No  sin  is  too  black  or.  crime  too  heinous  for  him  to  charge  to  the 
score  of  his  old  opponents.  It  is  true  that  it  was  the  company's 
policy  to  overbear  all  oj^position;  that  all  Indians  over  whom  they 
exercised  control  were  strictly  enjoined  from  dealing  with  in- 
depen<lent  traders  or  selling  them  supplies;  that  their  agents  were 
instructed  never  to  sup))ly  such  parties  with  food  or  ammunition, 
unless  the  dictates  of  pure  humanity  recjuired  it,  as  in  the  case  under 
consid(!ration ;  but  that  it  ever  encouraged  the  thought  among  the 
natives  that  it  ^^■ould  be  pleased  by  the  murder  of  Americans,  is  not 
susceptible  of  proof,  and  the  idea  is  inconsistent  with  the  character 
of  the  men  who  administered  its  affairs  <m  the  Pacific  Coast, 
especially  the  kind  and  benevolent  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  Chief 
Factor  at  Vancouver.  Smith's  party  was  the  first  band  of  American 
trappers  to  invade  tlie  com[)any's  field  in  Oregon,  and  as  their 
presence  \Nas  unsuspected,  since  the  company  had  not  }'et  begun  to 
operate  in  Stmthern  Oregon  and  California,  it  is  impossible  that 
these  Indians  could  ha\e  l)een  encouraged  to  attack  them.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  the  Indians  of  this  region,  save  those  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Colunil)ia,  did  not  at  that  time  understand  the  difference  in  na- 
tionality of  white  men,  though  but  n  few  years  later  the  appearance 
of  Americans  along  the  Columbia  taught  them  all  the  difference 
between  "  Bostons"  and  "  King  George's  Men,"  a  distinction  which 
wa.s  carefully  impressed  upon  them  by  the  representatives  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Com])any,  and  which,  in  their  eyes,  was  a  most  im- 
portant one,  as  subsequent  events  plainly  indicate.  To  show  that 
the  company  did  not  encourage  a  general  spirit  of  hostility  against 
Americans,  though  admitting,  or,  rather,  not  denying,  that  the 
tribes  were  urged  to  hold  no  communication  whatever  with  Ameri- 
can traders,  Dunn  relates  the  following  incident,  occurring,  proba- 
bly, subsecpieut  to  1830: — 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION    BY   THK  AMERICANS. 


197 


On  one  occasion  an  American  vessel,  Captain  Tlioinpson,  was  in  the  Columbia, 
trading  for  furs  and  salmon.  The  vessel  had  got  aground  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
river,  and  the  Indians,  from  various  quarters,  mustered  with  the  intent  of  cutting 
the  Americans  off,  tliinliing  that  tliey  had  an  opportunity  of  revenge,  and  would 
thus  escape  the  censure  of  the  company.  Dr.  M'Loughlin,  the  governor  of  Fort 
Vancouver,  hearing  of  their  intention,  immediately  dispatched  a  party  to  their  ren- 
dezvous, and  informed  them  that  if  they  injured  one  American,  it  would  be  just 
the  same  ottense  as  if  they  had  injured  one  of  his  servants,  and  the^  would  be  treated 
equally  as  enemies.  This  stunned  them,  and  they  relinciuished  their  purpose  and 
all  retired  to  their  respective  homes.  Had  not  this  come  to  the  governor's  ears  the 
Americans  must  have  perished. 

Such  conduct  is  characteristic  of  tlie  kind-hearted  Chief  Factor, 
and  it  is  probable  that  he  woukl  have  thus  acted  had  he  been  im- 
plicitly enjoined  to  the  contrary  by  his  superior  officers.  One  thing 
is  certain — in  after  years  he  lost  the  favor  of  the  (jroveriK)r  by  not 
withholding  from  American  settlers  the  aid  their  necessities  recpiu-ed, 
though  he  w^ell  knew  that  by  so  doing  lie  was  violating  the  well- 
defined  jjolicy  of  the  company  of  discouraging  American  immigra- 
tion. Just  when  the  title  "Bostons"  was  first  bestowed  upon 
Americans,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  English,  or  "  King  (leorge's 
Men,''  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty;  l)ut  it  was  probably  done  in  1882, 
when  a  Boston  merchant,  Nathaniel  J.  W}eth,  entered  (Oregon  to 
engage  in  the  fur  ti'ade,  as  will  appear  subse(juently.  In  after  years 
all  wdiite  people  })ecame  known  as  "  Bostons,'"  with  the  exception 
of  the  soldiers  and  the  priests,  and  this  chtssitication  exists  at  the 
jiresent  day. 

Dr.  McLoughlin  died  on  the  third  of  September,  1857,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-three,  and  a  stone  marks  his  last  resting  place  in  the 
Catholic  churchyard  at  Oregon  City.  Among  his  papers  was  found 
a  quite  lengthy  manuscript,  in  his  own  handwriting,  detailing  at 
length  his  acts  in  connection  with  many  events,  and  showing  how 
his  efforts  to  be  just,  kind  and  generous  to  the  settlers  had  not  (mly 
failed  to  win  him  the  goo>!  will  of  many  of  them,  or  justice  from  the 
Government,  but  had  lost  him  the  friendship  of  his  former  fellow- 
officers  of  the  IIudsf)n's  iJay  Company.  It  details  (piite  minutely 
the  incident  which  is  now  under  eonsideration,  and  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  Doctor's  version  differs  somewiiat  from  that  of  Hines 
or  Cxray  in  several  particulars,  especially  in  regard  to  the  ([uantity 
and  value  of  the  furs  recovered.  This  posthiunous  paper  has  been 
published  in  full  in  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Asso- 


m 


198 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


ciation,"'  and  will  be  frequently  quoted  from  in  the  succeeding  pages. 
That  portion  referring  to  the  Uiup(iua  nia-ssacre  is  as  follows: — 

One  night  in  Aujjust,  1828, 1  wus  surprised  by  tlie  Indians  malting  a  great  noise 
at  the  gate  of  tlie  fort,  saying  they  had  lirouglit  an  Anieriwin.  The  gate  was  ojiened, 
the  man  came  in,  but  was  so  affected  lie  could  not  speak.  After  sitting  down  some 
minutes  to  recover  himself,  he  told  he  was,  he  thought,  the  only  survivor  of  eighteen 
(18)  men,  conducted  by  the  late  .ledediah  Snath.  All  tlie  rest,  he  thought,  were 
murdered.  The  party  left  San  Francisco  bound  to  their  rendezvous  ■  the  Salt 
Lake.  They  a.scended  the  Sacramento  Valley,  l»ut  finding  no  opening  to  cross 
the  mountains  to  go  eiust,  tliey  bent  their  course  to  the  coast,  whicii  they  reachetl 
at  the  mouth  of  Rogue  River,  then  came  along  the  beach  to  the  Jmpqua,  where 
the  Indians  stole  their  ax,  and  as  it  was  the  only  ax  they  had,  and  whicli  they 
absolutely  refjuired  to  make  rafts  to  cross  rivers,  they  took  the  chief  prisoner 
and  their  ax  wa.s  returned.  Early  the  following  morning.  Smith  started  in  a 
canoe  with  two  (2)  men  and  an  Indian,  an.i  left  orders,  as  usual,  to  allow  no 
Indians  to  come  into  camp.  But  to  gratify  their  passion  for  women,  the  men 
neglected  to  follow  the  order,  allowed  the  Indians  to  come  into  camp,  and  at  an 
Indian  yell  live  or  six  Indians  fell  upon  each  white  man.  At  the  time,  the 
narrator,  Black,  was  out  of  the  crowd,  and  had  just  finished  cleaning  and  loading 
his  rifle:  three  (3)  Indian.')  jumped  on  him,  but  he  shook  them  off,  and  seeing  all 
his  conira«les  struggling  on  the  ground  and  the  Indians  stabbing  them,  he  fired  on 
the  crowd  and  rushed  to  the  woods  pursued  by  tlie  Indians,  but  fortunately  escaped  ; 
swam  across  the  Umptiua  and  [went]  northward  in  the  hopes  of  reaching  theColum- 
bia,  where  he  knew  we  were.  But  broken  down  by  hunger  and  misery,  as  he  had 
no  food  but  a  few  wild  berries  whicli  he  found  on  the  beach,  he  determined  to  give 
himself  up  to  the  Killimour,  a  trilie  on  the  coast  at  Cape  Lookout,  who  treated  him 
with  great  humanity,  relieved  his  wants  and  brought  him  to  the  Fort,  for  which,  in 
case  whites  might  again  fall  in  their  power,  and  to  induce  them  to  act  kindly  to 
them,  I  rewardeil  them  most  lllierally.  But  thinking  Smith  and  his  two  men  might 
have  escaped,  we  made  no  search  for  them  at  breali  of  day  the  next  morning.  I 
sent  Indian  runners  with  tol)acco  to  the  Willamette  chiefs,  to  tell  them  to  send 
their  people  in  search  of  Smith  and  his  two  men,  and  if  they  found  them  to  bring 
them  to  the  fort  and  I  would  pay  them  ;  and  also  told  them  if  any  Indians  hurt  these 
men  we  would  punish  them,  and  immediately  equipped  a  strong  party  of  forty 
(40)  well  armeo  men.  But  as  the  men  were  embarking,  to  out  great  joy,  Smith  and 
his  two  men  arrived. 

I  then  arranged  as  strong  a  party  as  I  could  make  to  recover  all  we  could  of 
Smith's  property.  I  divulged  my  i)lan  to  none,  but  gave  written  instructions  to 
the  officer,  to  be  opened  only  when  he  got  to  the  Tnipqua,  because  if  known  before 
they  got  there,  the  officers  would  talk  of  it  among  themselves,  the  men  would  hear 
it  and  from  them  it  wouUl  go  to  their  Indian  wives,  who  were  spies  on  us,  and  my 
plan  would  be  defeated.  The  plan  was  that  the  officer  was,  as  usual,  to  invite  the 
Indians  to  bring  their  furs  to  trade,  just  as  If  nothing  h.id  hai)pened.  Count  the 
furs,  but  as  the  American  trappers  mark  all  their  skins,  keep  these  all  separate,  give 
them  to  Mr.  Smith  and  not  pay  the  Indians  for  them,  telling  them  that  they 
belongetl  to  him;  that  they  got  them  by  murdering  Smith's  people. 

They  denied  having  murdered  Smith's  people,  but  admitted  they  l)ought  them 
of  the  murderers.  The  officers  told  them  they  must  look  to  the  murderers  for  the 
payment,  which  they  did  ;  and  as  the  niuulerers  would  not  restore  the  property 
they  had  received,  a  war  was  kindled  among  them,  and  the  murderers  were  pun- 
ished more  severely  than  we  could  have  done,  and  which  Mr.  Smith  himself 
admitted,  and  to  be  much  preferable  to  going  to  war  on  them,  as  we  could  not  dis- 


FAILUKK  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AM?:RICANS. 


199 


tinguish  the  innocent  from  the  guilty,  wlio,  if  they  chose,  might  fly  to  the  mount- 
ains, where  we  could  not  find  them.  In  this  way  we  recovered  property  for  Mr. 
Smith  to  the  amount  of  three  thousand  two  hundred  dollars,  witiiout  any  expense 
to  him,  and  which  was  done  from  a  principle  of  Christian  duty,  and  as  a  lesson  to 
the  Indians  to  show  them  they  could  not  wrong  the  whites  with  impunity. 

Smith's  report  of  th(^  excellence  of  tlie  region  to  the  south  as  a 
trup2>iiig  ground  aroused  the  company  to  the  importance  of  reaping 
the  benefit  of  the  American  trader's  enterprise.  Accordingly,  two 
expeditions  were  sent  out  in  different  dii'ections  to  trap  ov^er  the 
field  Smith  had  explored.  It  luis  been  said  that  the  service  of  guides 
to  these  new  beaver  streams  was  part  of  the  price  paid  by  him  for 
the  recovery  of  his  furs  and  traps;  but  a  positive  statement  on  that 
point  is  impossible.  One  party,  consisting  of  forty  men,  completely 
efiuipped  for  a  year's  absence,  started  southward,  led  by  Alexander 
Koderick  McLeod,  and  guided  by  Turner.  Among  them  were  some 
of  the  men  who  had  come  out  ^o  Astoria  Avith  the  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany, and  had  remained  here  in  the  employ  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany and  its  successor.  These  were  Etinne  Lucier,  Joseph  Gervais, 
bc)th  well  known  to  the  early  pioneers,  iVlexaiuler  McCarty,  William 
Canning  and  Thos.  McKay,  whose  father  perislied  in  the  Tonquhi. 
On  their  journey  s(juthward  they  bestowed  several  of  the  familiar 
names  of  Southern  (Oregon,  such  as  "Jum])-off-Joe,"  "  Rogue  River," 
and  "Siskiyou  Mountain."  The  first  was  so  named  because  of  an 
adventure  which  happened  to  Joe  McLoiighlin,  vson  of  the  Chief  Fac- 
tor. The  second  was  called  "La  Rivier  (h:*  Caipicain,"  because  the 
Indians  stole  some  of  their  traps  and  hoi'ses,  and  gave  them  much 
trouble.  The  last  received  its  title  because  an  old  white,  bobtailed 
horse,  belonging  to  Jean  Baptiste  Pairroult,  was  stolen  while  they 
were  camped  on  the  mountain,  "Siskiyou"  meaning  "l)obtail"  in 
the  patois  French  of  the  Canadian  tra])pers.  McLeod's  party  met 
with  consideral)le  su'-cess;  but  they  were  snowed  in,  early  in  the 
winter,  on  tlu^  banks  of  a  tributary  of  the  Sacramento,  lost  their 
horses,  and  were  unable  to  get  out  of  the  mountains  with  the  large 
packs  of  furs  and  traps.  In  this  emergency,  McKay,  McLoughlin 
and  Pairroult  started  on  foot  ^.>v  ^"  •  jouver,  to  procure  horses,  and 
after  much  hardship  and  s:..itMing  reacluHl  headipiarters.  McLeod, 
however,  unable  to  procure  food  for  his  men,  did  not  wait  for  the 
expected  relief,  but  cached  his  lurs  and  traps,  and  also  made  his 
toilsome  way  to  Vancouver.     The  cache  was  made  near  the  eastern 


200 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY, 


base  of  Mount  Slia-sta,  wliicli  they  called  "■  Mt.  McLoughliu."  When 
the  relief  party  arrived  at  the  deserted  camp,  the  following  spring, 
it  wa.M  found  that  the  .snow  and  rains  had  caused  th^  I'iver  to  flood 
its  banks,  and  the  furs  had  become  wet  and  spoiled.  The  stream 
was  ever  afterwards  known  among  the  trappers  as  "  McLeod  River," 
the  name  it  still  V>ears  in  pronunciation,  though  the  orthography 
has  been  changed  to  "  McCloud,"  The  reason  for  this  is,  that  in 
sound  the  two  names  are  very  similar,  and  that  Ross  McCloud,  a 
very  worthy  and  well-known  gentleman,  resided  on  the  stream  in 
an  early  day,  though  not  for  a  (piarter  of  a  century  after  it  rt^ceived 
its  baptism  of  "McLeod,"  Care  should  be  taken  by  all  map 
makers,  historians,  and  writers  generally,  to  adhei-e  to  the  original 
orthography. 

The  other  party  referred  to  was  led  by  Peter  Skeen  Ogden,  and 
was  accompanied  by  Smith.  They,  passed  up  the  Columbia  and 
Lewis,  or  Snake,  rivers,  to  the  source  of  the  latter,  where  Smith  left 
them  and  proceeded  to  the  general  rendezvous  of  his  company  on 
Green  River.  Jgden  continued  southward  un;  II  he  reached  the  Hum- 
boldt. That  stream  of  many  titles  was  known  among  the  American 
trappers  as  "  Mary's  River,"  and  among  the  Hudson's  Bay  [)eople 
as  "  Ogden's  River,"  its  jiresent  name  having  been  bestowed  upon 
it  by  Fremont,  who  had  sought  through  that  region  in  vain  for  the 
fabulous  "  Buena  Ventura."  Ogden  passed  down  the  stream  to  the 
"Sink,"  and  then  crossed  the  Sierra  Nevada  to  Sacramento  Valley 
through  Walker's  Pass.  He  trapped  along  the  Sacramento,  and 
continued  northward  until  he  reached  Vancouver,  sometime  in  the 
summer  of  IS'JU,  with  a  valuable  lot  of  furs.  When  Smith  appeared 
at  the  Green  Ri\er  rendezvous  with  the  tale  of  his  manifold  fortunes, 
he  was  as  one  risen  from  the  dead,  as  his  partners,  having  received 
no  tidings  of  him  for  two  years,  supposed  him  to  have  perished. 
In  1880  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company,  and  the  fidlowing  year  was  treacherously  killed  V>y  In- 
dians, while  digging  foi*  water  in  the  dry  bed  of  tlie  Cimeron  River, 
near  Taos,  New  Mexico,  and  was  l)uried  there  by  his  companions. 

The  second  party  of  American  trappers  to  enter  Oregon  wjis  that. 
of  Major  Pilcher.  They  left  Green  River  in  1828,  and  passed  along 
the  western  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Flathead  Lake,  where 
they  wintered.     In  the  s^jring  they  descended  Clarke's  Fork  and  the 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT   OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AMERICANS. 


201 


main  Columbia  to  Colville  River,  up  which  tliey  ascended  to  its 
source  and  started  on  their  return  eastward.  Gray  says:  "This 
party  of  Major  Pilcher's  were  all  cut  off  but  two  men,  besides  him- 
self; his  furs,  as  stated  by  himself  to  the  writer,  foun<l  their  way  into 
the  forts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company."  The  writer,  though  not 
stating  it  positively,  intends  to  convey  the  impression  that  these  men 
were  murdered  at  the  instigation  of  the  Hudson's  Ba}'  Company,  or, 
at  least,  with  its  sanction.  That  the  captured  furs  were  sold  to  the 
company  is  true,  but  as  that  was  the  only  market  o[)en  to  the  In- 
dians, it  is  a  very  small  fotmdation  upon  which  to  lay  a  charge  of 
nun-der  against  the  purchasers.  The  next  band  of  American  trap- 
pers \vas  that  of  Ewing  Young,  who  had  been  for  years  a  leader  of 
tra])ping  parties  from  Santa  Fe  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Del  Norte, 
Rio  Grande  and  Colorado  rivers.  He  entered  California  through 
Walker's  Pass,  in  1829,  and  returned  the  next  year.  In  1832  he 
again  entered  California  and  followed  Smith's  route  into  Oregon  as 
far  as  the  Umpqua,  when  he  turned  eastward,  ci'ossed  the  moun- 
tains to  the  tributary  streams  of  the  Colund)ia  and  Snake  rivers, 
entered  Sacramento  Valley  again  fi"om  the  north,  and  finally  crossed 
out  by  the  Tejon  Pass,  having  been  absent  from  Santa  Fe  two  years. 
Mr.  Young  soon  returned,  and  became  one  of  the  first  and  most 
energetic  of  the  American  settlers  in  Oregon,  his  death  a  few  years 
later  leading  to  the  organization  of  the  Provisional  Government. 
While  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  in  1832,  Young  encountered  a 
))rigade  of  Hudson's  Bay  trappers,  led  by  Michael  Laframbois.  Tlie 
company  had  made  this  one  of  their  fields  of  operation,  and  had 
the  year  before  established  Fgrt  Umpqua,  at  the  confluence  of  Elk 
Creek  and  Umpqua  River,  as  a  base  of  supplies  for  Southern  Ore- 
gon and  Calif o)  .  .  In  1833  an  agency  was  establislied  at  Yerba 
Buena  (San  Francisco),  and  trapping  headquarters  in  Yolo  and  San 
Joa([uin  counties,  both  places  becoming  known  to  the  early  Ameri- 
can settlers  as  "  Fi'ench  Camp."  J.  Alexander  Forl)es,  the  first 
English  historian  of  California,  and  W.  G.  Ray,  represented  the 
company  at  Yerba  Buena  until  it  withdrew  from  California  in 
1S45. 

William  Sublette  and  David  Jackson  retired  from  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company  in  1830,  at  the  same  time  as  Smith,  the  new 
proprietors  being  Milton  Sublette,  James  Bridger,  Robert  Campbell, 


202 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Thomas  Fitzpatrick,  Frapp  and  Jarvis.  In  1831  the  old  American 
Fur  Company,  which  had  been  manaf^ed  so  long  by  Mr.  Astor  but 
was  now  directed  by  Ramsey  Crooks,  one  of  Mr.  Astor's  partners  in 
the  Astoria  venture,  began  to  push  into  the  trapping  grounds  of 
the  othej"  company,  (^reat  rivalry  sprang  up  between  them,  which 
was  the  following  year  intensified  by  the  appearance  of  two  other 
competitors  in  the  persons  of  Captain  B.  L.  E.  Bonneville  and  Na- 
thaniel J.  AVyeth.  Captain  Bonneville  was  a  United  States  army 
officer,  who  had  been  given  permission  to  lead  a  party  of  trappers 
into  the  fur  regions  of  the  Northwest,  the  expedition  being  counte- 
nanced by  the  Government  only  to  tlie  extent  of  this  permit.  It 
was  supposed,  that,  by  such  an  undertaking,  sufficient  additional 
information  of  the  region  explored  would  l)e  obtained  to  warrant 
authorizing  an  officer  to  engage  in  a  private  venture.  The  Captain 
first  reached  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1 832.  In  1833  he  sent  Joseph 
Walker  with  forty  men  to  California  over  the  route  formerly  pur- 
sued by  Smith,  and  on  Christmas  of  the  same  year  started  with  three 
companions  from  his  camp  on  Portneuf  River,  upon  an  expedition 
to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  His  object,  as  given  by  Irving,  was:  "To 
make  himself  acquainted  with  the  country,  and  the  Indian  tribes; 
it  being  one  part  of  his  scheme  to  establish  a  trading  post  some- 
where on  the  lower  part  of  the  river,  so  as  to  participate  in  tlie 
trade  lost  to  the  United  States  by  the  capture  of  Astoria."  He 
reached  Powder  River  on  the  twelfth  of  January,  1834,  whence  his 
journey  was  continued  down  Snake  River  and  by  the  Nez  Perce 
trail  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  where  he  arrived  March  4,  1834. 

This  journey,  in  mid-winter,  was  attended  with  its  accompany- 
ing detail  of  hardships  incident  to  the  season,  including  the  absence 
of  game  end  presence  of  snow  in  the  mountains.  At  one  time  they 
had  wandered  among  the  Blue  Mountains,  lost  amid  its  canyons 
and  defiles  east  of  the  Grand  Ronde  Valley,  for  twenty  days,  nearly 
frozen  and  constantly  starved  until  they  were  at  the  verge  of  despair. 
At  length  a  Nez  Perce  chief  was  met  who  invited  them  to  his  lodge 
some  twelve  miles  further  along  the  trail  they  were  traveling,  and 
then  galloped  away.  So  great  had  betai  the  strain  upon  the 
Captain's  system  in  sustaining  these  successive  days  of  unnatural 
exertion,  that  when  the  chief  disappeared  he  sank  upon  the 
ground  and  lay  there  like  one  dead.     His  companions  tried  in 


FAILURE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AMERICANS. 


203 


vain  to  arouse  liiiu.  It  was  a  useless  effort,  aud  they  were  forced  to 
camp  by  the  trail  until  he  awoke  from  his  trance  the  next  day  and 
was  enabled  to  move  on.  They  had  hardly  resumed  their  tedious 
journey  when  some  dozen  Nez  Perces  rode  up  with  fresh  horses  and 
carried  them  in  triumph  to  their  village.  Everywhere  after  this 
they  were  kindly  received  by  this  liospital>le  jjeople — fed,  cared  for 
and  guided  on  their  way  by  them. 

Bonneville  and  his  two  companions  were  kindly  received  at  Fort 
Walla  Walla  by  Mr.  P.  C.  Pambrun,  who,  with  five  or  six  men, 
was  in  charge  of  that  station  at  the  mouth  of  the  Walla  Walla 
River.  This  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  representative  was  a  courte- 
ous, affalde  host,  but  when  asked  to  sell  the  Captain  supplies  that 
would  enable  his  return  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  said:  "That 
worthy  superintendent,  who  had  extended  all  the  genial  rights  of 
hospitality,  now  suddenly  ajssumed  a  witliered-up  a.spect  and 
demeanor,  and  observed  that,  however  he  might  feel  disposed  to 
serve  him  personally,  he  felt  bound  by  his  duty  to  the  Huds(m's  Bay 
Company  to  do  nothing  wliich  should  facilitate  or  encourage  the 
visits  of  other  traders  among  the  Indians  in  that  part  of  the  country." 
Bonneville  remained  at  the  fort  but  two  days  longer,  for  his  desti- 
tute condition,  combined  with  the  lateness  in  the  season,  rendered 
it  necessary  for  him  to  return  inuuediately ;  and  he  started  on  the 
back  trail  with  his  Nez  Perce  guide,  and  finally  reached  the  point  of 
general  rendezvous  for  his  various  expeditions.  This  is  a  true  state- 
ment of  the  position  assumed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  its 
agents  would  not  themselves,  nor  would  they  permit  the  Indians 
under  their  control  to  deal  with  or  in  any  manner  assist  opposition 
traders;  but  that  Bonneville  traversed  the  (30untry  in  safety  with  but 
three  companions,  after  the  company  was  aware  of  his  intention  to 
return  and  found  a  rival  establishment  on  the  Columbia,  is  convinc- 
ing evidence  that  assassination  was  not  one  of  its  methods  of  over- 
coming competition,  however  much  such  charges  umy  be  reiterated 
by  its  enemies. 

In  July,  1834,  Bonneville  started  on  a  second  expedition  to  the 
Colum.,1^,  with  a  formidable  number  of  trappers  and  mountain 
men,  well  equipped,  and  with  an  extensive  stock  of  goods  to  traffic 
with  Indians.  He  still  contemplated  a  restoration  of  American  trade 
in  this  country,  and  designed  establishing  a  post  for  that  purpose  in 


204 


TdSTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


the  Willamette  Valley.  This  time  he  passed  the  Blue  Mountains 
by  way  of  Grand  Ilonde  Valley  and  the  Umatilla  River,  and  upon 
his  arrival  at  tlie  mouth  of  that  stream,  was  surprised  to  tind  the 
natives  shunning  him.  They  ran  from  his  men,  hid  themselves,  and 
when  intercepted,  refused  to  have  an^'thing  to  do  with  the  Ameri- 
cans. Not  a  skin,  a  horse,  a  dog,  or  a  fish,  could  he  obtained  fi'om 
them,  having  l)een  warned  l»y  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  not  to 
traffic  with  these  new  comers.  It  now  seemed  a  question  of  imme- 
diate evacuation  or  starvation,  and  Bonneville  decided  to  abandon 
his  attempt  at  joint  occupancy.  Once  more  he  turned  his  back  upon 
the  Columbia  and  left  the  English  company  in  undisputed  possession 
of  the  field. 

A  contemporaneous  effort  was  made  by  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  a 
Boston  merchant,  ^^'ith  eleven  men  who  knew  nothing  of  trapper- 
life,  he  crossed  the  plains  to  Humboldt  River,  with  Milton  Sublette, 
in  1832.  From  this  j)oint  the  twelve  pushed  north  to  Snake  River, 
and  by  way  of  that  strt  am  to  Fort  Vancouver,  where  they  arrived 
on  the  twenty-ninth  of  October.  Mr.  Wyeth  had  his  whole  fortune 
invested  in  his  enterprise,  and  had  brought  with  him  a  large  stock 
of  goods,  such  as  were  used  in  the'  Indian  trade.  He  was  received 
with  great  hospitality  by  Dr.  McLoughlin.  The  next  spring  he 
left  for  the  East,  a  financial  bankrupt,  only  two  of  his  followers 
accompanying  him.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  company's  officers 
contributed  in  any  way  to  produce  this  result;  but  if  they  did  not, 
it  M-as  simply  because  it  was  unnecessary  to  do  so.  Had  not  natural 
causes,  the  chief  of  which  were  the  wrecking  of  his  supply  ship 
which  had  been  sent  around  Cape  Horn,  and  his  utter  ignorance  of 
the  business  of  fur  trading,  led  to  his  failure,  the  company  would 
undoubtedly  have  protected  its  interests  as  it  did  upon  his  next 
venture  two  years  later.  Arriving  in  Boston,  Mr.  Wyeth  organized 
"  The  Columbia  River  Fishing  and  Tiading  Company,"  with  a  view 
of  continuing  operations  on  the  Pacific  Coast  under  the  same  general 
plan  that  had  been  cmtlined  by  Astor,  adding,  however,  salmon  fish- 
ing to  the  fur  trade.  He  dispatched  the  brig  Mary  Dacres  for  the 
mouth  of  the  (Columbia,  loaded  with  supplies  and  implements  needed 
in  his  pi'oposed  undertaking.  She  had  on  board  also  supplies  for 
the  Methodist  Mission,  to  be  spoken  of  hereafter.  With  sixty  ex- 
perienced men,  Mr.  Wyeth  himself  started  overland  in  1834.    Near 


FAILUKE  AT  JOINT  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AMERICANS. 


205 


the  headwaters  of  Snake  River  he  built  Foit  Hall,  as  an  interior 
trading  post,  the  name  ))eing  that  of  one  of  his  partners.  Here  he 
left  twelve  men  and  a  stock  of  goods.  II(^  then  pushed  forward  to 
the  Columl)ia  and  erected  a  fort  on  Sauvie's  Island,  j't  the  mouth  of 
the  Willamette  lliver,  which  he  called  "  Fort  Will  iams,"  in  honor 
of  another  partner;  and  again  the  Amei-ican  flag  \va^•ed  over  soil 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  ofticers  of  the  co.npany  again 
received  him  with  much  hos|»itality,  and  though  they  continued  to 
treat  him  with  courtet^y,  this  did  not  prevent  them  from  taking  the 
steps  necessary  to  protect  the  company's  interests.  Fort  Boise  was 
esta) dished  as  an  opposition  to  Fort  Hall,  and  drew  the  bulk  of  the 
trade  of  the  Indians  of  Snake  River.  On  the  Columbia,  Wyeth 
found  that  the  natives  were  so  completely  under  the  conti'ol  of  the 
company  that  he  could  establish  no  business  rehitions  with  them 
whatever.  In  two  years  he  was  com})elleil  to  sell  all  his  possessions, 
including  Fort  Hall,  to  the  rival  company,  and  abandon  this  second 
effort  at  joint  occupation.  To  this  result  the  American  Fur  Coin- 
[)any  and  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Comj)an}'  largely  contributed  by 
conduct  towards  Mr.  Wyeth  that  was  neither  generous  nor  honor- 
able, and  it  was  linally,  with  a  sense  of  gratification,  that  he  sold 
Fort  Hall  to  the  British  Company,  and  thus  gave  them  an  im[t()r- 
tant  post  in  the  very  heart  of  the  trapping  grounds  of  his  unpatriotic 
and  unscrupulous  countrymen. 

Dr.  McLoughlin's  account  of  Mr.  Wyeth's  venture,  as  given  in 
the  document  previously  spoken  of,  is  as  follows: — 

In  1832,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Wyeth,  of  Cambridge,  near  Boston,  came  across  land 
with  a  parly  of  men,  but  as  the  vessel  he  expected  to  meet  here  with  supplies  was 
wreclted  on  the  way,  he  returned  to  the  East  with  three  (3)  men.  The  remainder 
joined  the  Willamette  settlement  and  got  supplies  and  were  assisted  by  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company's  servants,  and  to  be  paid  the  same  price  for  their  wheat — that 
is,  three  shillings  sterling  per  bushel,  and  purchase  their  supplies  at  fifty  per  cent, 
on  prime  cost. 

In  1834.  Mr.  Wyeth  returned  with  a  fresh  party,  and  met  the  vessel  with  supplies 
here,  and  t,uirted  with  a  large  outfit  for  Fort  Hall,  which  he  had  built  on  his  way, 
and  in  183fi,  he  abandoned  the  business  and  returned  to  the  States,  and  those  of  his 
men  that  remained  in  the  country  joined  the  settlements  and  were  assisted  as  the 
others  on  the  same  terms  as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  servants,  and  in  justice 
to  Mr.  Wyeth,  I  have  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  state  that  as  a  rival  in  trade,  I 
always  found  him  open,  manly,  frank  and  fair,  and  in  short,  in  all  his  contracts,  a 
perfect  gentleman  and  an  honest  man,  doing  all  he  could  to  support  morality  and 
eueouragiug  industry  iu  the  settlement. 


206 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


In  1835  the  two  rival  American  companies  were  consolidated  as 
"  The  American  Fur  Company,"  Bridger,  Fontenelle  and  Dripps 
being  the  leaders.  The  retirement  of  Bonneville,  and  the  sale  of 
Fort  Hall  by  Mr.  Wyeth,  left  oidy  the  consolidated  company  and 
a  few  "lone  traders"  to  compete  with  the  English  corporation. 
For  a  few  years  longer  the  struggle  was  maintained,  >)Ut  gradually 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  absorbed  the  trade  imtil  the  American 
trappers,  so  far  as  organized  effort  was  concerned,  abandoned  the 
field. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

FOUNDATION  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  MISSIONS. 

Missionaries  Introduce  a  New  Element  into  the  Oregon  Question — The 
Fhxtheads  send  Messengers  to  St.  Louis  to  Procure  a  Bible — Jason 
Lee  and  others  sent  by  the  Methodist  Boards  of  Missions — They  iMcate 
in  the  Willamette  Valley — Their  IHan  of  Operations- — Sickness  at 
the  Mission  and  Hostility  of  the  Indians — Parker  and  Whitman 
sent  by  the  American  Board — Parker''s  Triumphal  March — He  Re- 
turns Home  and  Publishes  a  Book — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman — Whit- 
man Takes  a  Cart  as  Far  as  Fort  Boise — Missions  Founded  at 
Waiilatpu  and  Lapwai — Progress  of  the  Missions  of  the  American 
Board — Mission  Founded  at  The  Dalles— Advent  of  the  Catholics 
— A  Religious  War  at  Once  Begins — A  Few  Sample  Incidents — Ef- 
fects of  the  Two  Forms  of  Worship  upon  the  Natives. 


THE  opening  wedge  for  American  settlement  and  occupation  of 
Oregon,  which  was  the  new  and  decisive  factor  time  intro- 
duced into  the  Oregon  Question,  was  the  Protestant  Missionaries. 
In  despair  of  coming  to  an  amicable  agreement,  the  plenipotentiaries 
of  England  and  the  United  States,  in  1827,  had  continued  indefi- 
nitely the  treaty  of  joint  occupation,  hoping  that  something  would 
turn  up  to  put  a  new  phase  upon  the  question;  and  in  less  than  ten 
years  their  expectations  were  fully  realized,  but  in  a  manner  little 
dreamed  of  by  the  most  astute  of  them  all.  Military  posts  were 
thought  of,  emigrants  were  thought  of,  fur  traders  were  thought  of; 
but  no  one  seemed  to  have  thought  of  the  earnest  and  self-abnegat- 
ing missionary — that  is  no  one  but  the  aborigines,  whose  rights 
and  preferences  had  not  been  considered  by  either  party  to  this 
long  controversy. 

From  licwis  and  Clarke  the  Indians  of  the  Columbia  first  learned 
of  the  white  man's  God.     They  were  told  that  the  Great  Spirit  wor- 


208 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


shi))('(l  by  their  visitors  luul  made  of  them  a  powerful  nation,  given 
tht'Ui  hooks,  <i;ims,  clotliiu';,  and  a  thousand  things  the  red  man  did 
not  [tossess.  Otlier  white  men  wlio  came  hiter  whettetl  their  ahvady 
keen  desire  to  learn  about  this  powerful  (t(m1,  and  possess  that  won- 
derful Itook  whieh  he  had  <(iven  to  these  strange  pei»ple.  One  tribe 
was  [)iesented  by  some  irreverent  trap])ei*s  with  a  well-tluunbed 
pack  of  cards,  with  the  assuranc-  that  they  were  the  bible  for  which 
they  longed;  but  the  deeepti<»n  was  a  brief  one.  Finally,  in  1S32, 
four  (some  authorities  say  five)  Flathead  Indians  were  delegated 
l>y  their  trib(^  to  proceed  to  St.  Louis,  which  they  believe<l  to  be 
the  great  center  of  the  white  man's  power,  and  procure  this  all- 
powei"ful  book  and  some  one  to  teach  them  its  contents.  It  was  a 
strange  ({Uest,  and  a  stranger  place  in  which  to  make  it,  for  St. 
Louis  then  overflowed  with  that  turbulent  and  ungtHlly  class  that 
in  those  cai-ly  times  swarmed  along  the  western  border  of  civiliza- 
tion. Tile  messenifers  were  laui'hed  at  bv  the  few  to  whom  they 
ap[)lied;  and  aftei"  two  of  their  numl)er  had  diet!  in  the  city,  the 
others  set  out  sorrowfully  on  their  return,  without  having  procuretl 
the  great  book,  and  with  their  faith  in  its  efficacy  for  good  sadly 
shaken  V)y  the  scenes  they  had  witnesseil.  One  of  them  died  on 
the  way,  yet  their  journey  was  not  wholly  fruitless;  for  their 
lamentations  were  overheard  one  dav  by  one  who  immediately 
wrote  to  the  missionary  societies  in  the  East  that  there  was  a  wide 
and  ripe  field  for  their  labors  in  Oregon.  The  matter  was  taken  in 
hand  by  two  organizations,  the  Methodist  Board  of  Missions,  and 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioneix  for  Foreign  Missions,  a 
society  supported  })y  the  Congregational,  Presl»\-terian  and  Dutch 
Reformed  denominations. 

The  Methodists  were  the  first  to  take  the  field.  Rev.  Jason 
Lee  was  given  direction  of  the  work.  Mr.  Lee  was  l)orn  in  Canatla, 
of  Ameri(!an  parents,  and  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  the  United 
States;  yet  his  American  citizenship  has  been  (piestioned  by  secta- 
rian writers,  who  imagine  that  V)y  doing  so  they  gain  for  themselves 
certain  pioneer  honors  that  are  justly  his  due.  His  associates  were 
Rev.  Daniel  Lee,  Cyrus  Shepard  and  P.  L.  Edwards.  When  Na- 
thaniel Wyeth  made  his  second  journey  to  the  Columlua,  in  1884, 
as  already  related,  this  missionary  party  accompanied  him.  WTien 
Wyeth  stopped  to  build  Fort  Hall  the  missionaries  left  him  and 


L  BL  M  if^^r^^r- 


FOUNDATION  AND  PROORE8S  OK  THE  MISSIONS. 


209 


continued  their  journey  with  a  hri<ra(le  of  Hudson's  Bay  ('onipaiiy 
trappers,  under  A.  R.  McLeod  anil  Thomas  McKay.  On  the  fii-st 
of  September  they  reached  Fort  Walla  WaHa,  a  post  the  Iludsim's 
Bay  Company  had  establislied  on  the  Columbia  at  the  niimth  of 
Walla  AValla  River,  where  the  town  of  Wallula  now  stands.  On 
the  fifteenth  they  landed  from  boats  at  the  company's  headquarters 
at  Vancouver.  They  were  most  cordially  welcomed  by  J)r.  Mc- 
Loughlin,  who  t  ntertained  them  with  the  greatest  hospitality.  It 
had  been  their  intention  to  locate  east  of  the  mountains,  but  the 
Chief  Factor  persuaded  them  to  found  their  establishment  in  the 
Willamette  \'alley.  It  has  been  charged  that  his  reosons  for  desir- 
ing them  to  choose  the  latter  place  were  that  he  might  secure  the 
services  of  one  of  them  as  teacher  to  children  at  the  fort.  If  such 
was  the  case  his  motive  was  far  from  being  an  unworthy  one;  and  he 
did  the  Indians  no  wrong,  since  those  on  one  side  of  the  mountains 
were  as  n  'ch  in  need  of  missionary  labors  as  those  on  the  opposite. 
It  was  a  ;  ^rtunate  thing  for  the  United  States  that  he  did  so,  for 
the  mission  became  the  center  about  which  American  settlers  rallied 
a  few  years  later,  and  it  became  an  important  factor  in  wresting 
Oregon  from  the  grasp  of  Great  Britain.  On  this  subject  McLough- 
lin's  document  says: — 

In  18.S4,  Messrs.  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee,  and  Messrs.  Walker  and  P.  L.  Edwards 
came  wiih  Mr.  Wyeth  to  establish  a  mission  in  the  Flathead  country.  I  observed 
to  them  that  it  was  too  dangerous  for  them  to  establish  a  mission ;  that  to  do  good 
to  the  Indians,  they  must  establish  themselves  wliere  they  could  collect  them  around 
tht^m;  teach  t  leni  ♦'>  cultivate  the  ground  and  live  more  comfortably  than  they  do 
by  hunting,  and  as  they  do  this,  teach  them  religion  ;  that  the  Willamette  aflbrded 
them  a  fine  field,  and  that  they  ought  to  go  there,  and  they  would  get  the  same 
assistance  as  the  settlers.  They  followed  my  advice  and  went  to  the  Willamette, 
and  it  is  but  justice  to  these  pioneers  to  say  that  no  men,  in  my  opinion,  could  exert 
themselves  more  zealously  than  they  did  till  1840,  when  they  received  a  large  rein- 
forcement of  forty  (40)  or  more  persons ;  then  the  new-comers  began  to  neglect  their 
duties,  discord  sprang  uyt  among  them  and  the  mission  broke  up. 

The  location  chosen  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Willamette,  some 
sixty  miles  above  its  mouth  and  ten  below  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Salem.  They  began  the  erection  c»f  a  log  house,  H2xl8  feet, 
and  so  eager  were  they  to  begin  their  labors  that  they  took  posses- 
sion of  it  on  the  third  of  November  in  an  uncompleted  conf''..[  n, 
and  received  Indian  pupils  before  the  roof  was  finished.  TLeir  re- 
lations with  the  people  at  Vancouver  were  the  most  friendly  and 


i 


•I'i 


210 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


cordial.  Twenty-one  persons  were  baptized  at  the  fort  by  Jason 
Lee  oil  the  fourteenth  of  December,  seventeen  of  them  children; 
and  he  received  a  donation  of  twenty  dollars  to  aid  in  his  mission- 
ary work.  They  were  viewed  by  the  officers  of  tlie  conn)any  solely 
in  their  character  as  missionaries,  their  nationality  and  creed  not 
beiiiii' considered ;  Jmd  as  siu-h  they  received  hospitable  treatment 
and  hearty  encouragement  in  a  work  which  was  deei.ivd  beneficial. 
They  proposed  not  only  to  teach  religion  to  the  Indians,  bnt  to 
teach  them  to  till  the  soil  and  to  do  other  useful  and  productive 
labor,  by  means  of  which  their  moral,  mental  and  physical  condi- 
tion might  be  elevated.  Realizing  that  the  plastic  mind  of  youth 
is  the  easiest  moulded,  they  opened  a  school  for  children,  and  fur- 
nished them  a  house,  where  they  could  learn  to  read,  ^vorship  God 
and  till  the  soil.  To  do  this  recpiired  food  lor  their  support;  and 
it  became  necessary  ft»r  them  to  embark  in  farming  in  order  to  pro- 
duce it.  This  they  l)egan  the  following  spring,  and  their  first 
harvest  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  of  potatoes  and 
a  ([uantity  of  wheat,  barley,  oats  and  peas.  To  this  they  added  six 
barrels  of  salmon,  procured  fi'om  the  Indians.  In  September,  one 
year  after  their  arrival,  the  first  of  a  series  of  misfoitunes  overtook 
them.  An  intermittent  fever  became  prevalent,  and  foui'  of  the 
children  died.  The  Indians  had  been  watchintr  their  movements 
\\'ith  considt*ral>le  interest,  and  these  sad  occurrences  had  a  powerful 
effect  upon  their  superstitious  natures,  causing  them  to  view  with 
distrust  the  place  where  the  Great  Spirit  Avas  <lisplaying  his  disap- 
proval by  causing  the  death  of  their  childi-eu.  One  Indian,  who 
had  lost  a  little  brother,  paid  the  mission  a  visit  with  the  avowed 
intention  of  killing  Daniel  Lee  and  Cyrus  Shepard,  but  was  dis- 
stuided  from  doing  so  l>y  a  companion.  He  gave  vent  to  his  wrath 
against  the  "white  medicines"  by  crossing  the  river  and  killing 
several  of  his  own  race,  presumably  his  wife's  relations.  During 
the  fall  an  addition.  l(»x;5"j  feet,  was  l)uilt  to  the  niissi(m  house,  and 
the  close  of  the  yeai-  found  them  comfortably  housed,  with  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  provisions  and  only  ten  jmpils  under  their  charge, 
while  the  Indians  generally  entertained  serious  doubts  of  the  ad- 
vantage of  having  them  theiv  at  all. 

The  American  Uoard  dispatched   Kev.  Sanuiel  Parker  and  Dr. 
Marcus  Whitman  in  the  spring  of   lS;i;i,  as  a  pioneei"  committee  to 


FOUNDATION  AND  l'KO«BESS  OF  TIIK  MISSIONS. 


211 


examine  the  field  and  select  suitable  locations  for  missionary  work. 
They  joined  a  party  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  ac- 
companied them  to  the  grand  rendezvous  on  Green  Rivei-,  where 
they  encountered  a  band  of  Nez  Perce  Indians  who  had  come  across 
the  mountains  to  trade  with  the  trappers,  with  \\'lu)ni  the  tribe  was 
on  terms  of  wa»*mest  friendship.  Among  the  Nez  Perces  was  a 
young  chief  who  was  a  most  ardent  friend  of  the  Americans.  He 
possessed  great  eloquence  in  debate,  and  was  named  "Lawyer"  by 
the  whites,  because  of  his  forensic  efforts.  With  tliis  chief  the 
missionaries  had  a  consultation,  and  resolved  to  establish  at  least 
two  missions.  Accordingly  it  was  agreed  that  Dr.  Parker  would 
continue  the  journey  across  the  continent  for  tlie  pui'[)ose  of  e.xplora- 
tion,  so  that  suitable  locations  might  be  selected;  he  was  then  to 
leave  a  letter  of  advice  witli  the  Nez  Perces  to  be  given  to  Whit- 
man the  next  year,  and  return  home  V)y  sea.  Tliis  was  decided 
upon  because  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  two  uwn  were  such 
as  to  prevent  cordial  co-operation.  Dr.  Wliitman  was  the  very  soul 
of  energy  and  devotion  to  duty,  caring  nothing  for  appearances  or 
the  opinion  of  others  if  they  stood  between  him  and  the  object  to 
which  he  had  <levoted  his  life;  while  Dr.  Parker  seems  to  have 
l»een  a  self-important  man  to  whom  a  little  notoriety  was  extremely 
soothing.  Dr.  Whitman,  accompanied  by  two  young  Nez  Perces, 
returned  to  the  Ea.st  to  procure  the  necessary  assistance  for  the  two 
missions  to  be  founded. 

Dr.  Parker  resumed  his  journey  westward  on  the  twenty-second 
of  August,  and  when  he  entered  the  Nez  Perce  country  received 
such  an  ovation  from  the  delighted  Indians  as  must  iiave  gratified 
liis  vanity  in  the  highest  degree.  No  white  man  before  or  since 
was  ever  received  by  the  natives  of  the  Columbia  with  such  cordial- 
ity and  ceremonious  tlistinction  as  greeted  Mr,  Parker  on  liis  way 
to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  His  approach  to  an  Indian  vilhige  was  the 
occasion  of  general  display  of  savage  grandeur  and  hospitality. 
Here  was  one  who  had  come  t(  tell  them  of  that  unseen  and  myste- 
rious power  which  had  done  so  many  wonderful  things  for  the 
white  man ;  and  they  hoped  now  to  learn  how  to  worship  that  (Tieat 
Spirit  of  whom  they  had  heard  their  first  white  \isitors  speak,  and 
wlio,  they  hoped,  might  smile  upon  them  and  nuike  them  wise  and 
lK)Vverful.     With  this  thought  they  leceived  the  missionai'y  every- 


212 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


where  wntli  uutstretehed  arms  and  demonstrations  of  unbounded 
jt>v.  He  Ijeld  religions  services  in  several  places,  and  to  a  degree 
indueteil  Lis  eager  neophytes  into  the  mysteries  of  the  white  man's 
religion.  He  reached  Fort  Walla  Walla  on  the  fifth  of  October, 
reeeiving  a  cordial  welcome  from  P.  C  Pambrun,  the  gentleman  in 
charge.  A  few  days  later  he  passed  down  the  Columbia  in  a  boat, 
{\nd  during  the  winter  enjoyed  the  hospitalities  of  Dr.  McLoughlin 
a'  Vjuicouver.  In  the  spring  he  returned  east  of  the  mountains  and 
miu\e  c  journey  through  the  Nez  Perce,  Spokane  and  Colville 
countries,  after  which  he  embarked  from  Vancouver  for  the  Sand- 
wich Islanils,  and  thence  for  home, '  iriving  in  1837.  He  soon  after 
published  an  account  of  liis  travels,  which  was  of  special  value  at 
that  time  because  of  the  deep  interest  the  people  were  beginning  to 
take  in  the  ( )regon  Question. 

Dr.  A\'hitman,  Avith  his  two  Indian  companions,  reached  Rush- 
ville,  N.  v.,  his  home,  late  on  Saturday  night,  and  his  presence 
there.  instea<l  of  in  the  lieart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  was  first 
knoMTi  Avhen  he  walkeci  tiuietly  into  church  the  next  morning  \Nnth 
his  copper-hued  friends,  his  mother  starting  up  with  a  cry  of  ih- 
t*>nishment  and  joy.  During  the  winter  all  his  an'angements  \k^ere 
made,  including  his  maiTiage  in  February,  1836,  with  Miss  Nar- 
cissa  Prentiss,  daughter  of  Stephen  H.  Prentiss.  Mrs.  Whitman 
was  a  woman  of  refined  nature,  rare  accomplishments  of  voice  and 
manner,  of  connnanding  ]>resence,  firm  in  purpose  and  an  enthu- 
siast in  the  line  of  her  accepted  duty.  In  this  cause  her  deepest 
sympathies  had  been  enlisted,  and  she  cheerfully  yielded  all  her 
fair  prospects  among  friends  and  kindred,  and  devoted  her  life  to 
isolation  in  a  coimtry  so  far  away  that  the  very  name  conveyed  to 
the  mind  a  sense  of  loneliness  and  mystery,  and  where  a  martyr's 
irrave  wjis  awaiting  her.  She  was  born  at  Pittsburg,  N.  Y.,  March 
14.  18(18,  and  v/as  therefor^  Vmt  thirty-nine  years  of  age  when 
merciless  and  ingrate  hands  crowned  with  her  death  the  sacrifice  of 
her  life.  Marcus  Whitman,  M.  D.,  was  born  September  4,  1802-, 
at  Rusliville,  X.  Y.,  and  at  the  age  of  forty-five  offered  up  his  life 
on  the  altar  of  duty.  These  t^vo,  accompanied  by  Rev.  H.  H. 
Spalding  and  wife,  a  lady  of  much  firmness  of  character  and  devo 
tion  to  duty,  and  W.  H.  (iray,  set  out  on  their  westward  journey 
under  the  escort  of  a  pai'ty  of  the  American  Fur  Company.     With 


FOUNDATION  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  MISSIONS. 


213 


the  party  were  Major  Pilcher,  an  independent  trader  previously 
alluded  to,  and  Sir  William  Drummond,  an  English  nobleman 
traveling  under  the  alias  of  "  Captain  Stewart "  and  accompanied 
by  a  companion  and  three  servants.  The  missionary  party  took  with 
them  three  wagons,  eight  mules,  twelve  horses  and  sixteen  cows, 
besides  farming  utensils,  blacksmith  and  carpenter  tools,  seeds, 
clothing,  etc.,  to  enable  them  to  become  self-supporting  At  Fort 
Laramie  all  the  wagons  but  one  were  abandoned,  but  Whitman  in- 
sisted upt)U  taking  this  one  for  the  ladies  to  ride  in ;  the  trappers  also 
concluded  to  try  the  experiment  of  wheels  in  the  mountains,  and 
safely  took  a  small  cart  to  the  grand  rentlezvous  on  Green  Kiver. 
Here  the  missionaries  met  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  on  his  return  home 
from  his  second  unfortunate  effort  to  test  the  virtues  of  joint  occu- 
l^ation  in  Oregon,  and  they  were  by  him  introduced  to  McKay  and 
McLeod,  the  two  Hudson's  Bay  Company  agents  who  had  escorted 
Jason  Lee  two  years  before,  and  who  were  about  to  I'eturn  to  Van- 
couver from  a  trapping  and  trading  tour.  Nocwithstanding  the 
urgent  objection  of  the  trapjDers  and  their  assurances  that  it  was 
impossible  for  a  wagon  to  pass  through  the  mountains.  Whitman 
insisted  upon  taking  the  vehicle  along;  but  when  he  reached  Fort 
Hall  he  was  compelled  to  reduce  it  to  two  wheels,  and  at  Fort  Boise 
they  insisted  upon  an  entire  abandonment  of  it.  Nevertheless,  he 
had  demonstrated  that  wagons  could  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  was  satisfied  that  the  remainder  of  the  route  presented  no  more 
formidable  obstacles.  They  were  met  on  tlie  route  by  a  band  of 
Nez  Perces  who  had  been  informed  in  the  spring  1»y  Dr.  Parker  of 
their  expected  coming,  and  their  reception  \vas  only  less  impressive 
than  had  l)een  that  of  their  herald,  whose  failui'e  to  do  anything  for 
them  had  served  somewhat  to  cool  the  ardor  Avhich  his  appearance 
had  raised  to  fever  heat.  Mr.  Pambrun  gave  them  a  hearty  wel- 
come to  Fort  Walla  Walla  on  the  second  of  September,  which  was 
repeated  by  Dr.  McLoughlin  a  few  days  latei-  when  they  landed 
from  the  company's  boats  at  Fort  Vancouver. 

Leaving  the  ladies  to  enjoy  the  ht)spitalities  of  the  fort,  the  three 
gentlemen  returned  to  Walla  AV^alla,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  Pam- 
brun, sought  for  suitable  locations  for  their  pro])osed  missions.  It 
was  decided  to  locate  one  among  the  Cayuses  and  the  otluM-  among 
the  Nez  Perces.     The  former  was  located  at  Waiilatpu,  ou  the 


214 


HISTORY  OK  WILLAMKTTK  VALLEY. 


Walla  Walla  Rive)*,  six  miles  west  <if  the  present  city  of  Walla 
Waila,  and  was  taken  charge  of  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman.  This 
was  known  as  the  '  AVaiilatpu,"  or  "  Whitman,  Mission,"  the  former 
name  signifying  "the  people,"  being  the  proper  title  of  the  Caynse 
tribe.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spalding  founded  the  "  Lapwai  Mission  "  among 
the  Nez  Perces,  at  a  place  on  the  Clearwater  River  a  few  miles  from 
the  site  of  Lewiston,  Idaho.  Mr.  Gray  rendered  material  aid  in 
constructing  the  two  posts,  and  assisted  the  two  principals  in  their 
missionary  laboi-s. 

The  next  year,  it  l)eing  deemed  advisable  to  extend  the  field  of 
their  operations,  Mr.  Gray  returned  East,  to  procure  the  necessary 
means  and  additional  aid  to  accomplish  that  purpose.  He  was 
accompanied  by  four  Nez  Perces,  who  took  a  large  band  of  horses 
with  them,  the  price  of  which  they  intended  to  contribute  to  the 
Mission  fund.  On  the  Platte  River  the  paity  was  attacked  by  Sioux 
Indians,  their  horses  stolen  ami  the  four  Ne/  Perces  killed,  }h . 
Gray  barely  escaping  with  his  life.  He  returned  in  1)S;?H,  with  Rev. 
E.Walker  and  wife.  Rev.  Gushing  Eells  and  wife.  Rev.  A.  B.  Smith, 
Mrs.  Gi-ay,  and  Cornelius  Rogers.  With  the  party  came  Captain 
John  A.  Sutter,  the  honored  pioneer  of  the  Sacramento  Valley. 
They  brought  with  them  fourteen  cows  of  a  superior  breed,  l)ut  at 
Fort  Hall  were  persuaded  to  leave  them  and  accept  in  their  place 
an  order  for  a  similar  number  to  be  delivered  them  l)y  the  agent  of 
the  Hudson's  Ray  Company  when  they  reached  their  destination. 
They  failed  to  fully  appreciate  the  beauties  of  this  transaction  until 
after  their  arrival  at  the  AVhitman  Mission  in  Septend)er,  and  wit- 
nessed the  efforts  of  an  expert  vaquero  to  catch  some  of  the  wild 
heifers  roaming  with  the  herds  belonging  to  the  company. 

The  following  brief  and  accurate  account  of  the  Missicms  of  the 
American  Board  is  taken  from  Rev.  Myron  Eells'  book,  entitled 
"  Indian  Mis'^ions,"  and  carries  them  up  to  the  time  when  the  Amer- 
ican settlers  organized  a  government  in  Oregon,  from  which  time 
they  will  only  be  considei'ed  in  connection  with  concurrent  events. 
Mr.  Eells  says: — 

On  the  arrival  of  this  mission  reinforcement,  Mr.  Gray  was  ussociated  with  Mr. 
Spalding.  Mr.  Smitli  was  first  stationed  with  Dr.  Whitman,  but  the  next  year  lie 
opened  a  new  station  at  Kamiah,  sixty  miles  from  Lapwai,  among  the  Nez  Perces, 
and  Messrs.  Walker  and  Eells  likewise  began  another  station  among  the  Hpokanes, 
ut  THhimakain,  six  miles  north  of  the  8iH)kane  River,  in  the  spring  of  1839.    The 


FOITNDAtlON  AND  PROORKSS  OF  TIIK  MISSIONS. 


215 


first  few  years  of  the  niission  were  quite  encounitring.  OwiiiK  jjiirtly  to  tiie  novelty, 
the  Indians  seemed  very  anxious  to  lahor,  to  learn  at  scliool,  and  to  receive  religious 
instruction.  In  1H87,  as  soon  as  a  scliool  was  opened  at  La])wai,  Mr.  Wpalding  wrote 
that  a  hundred,  hoth  old  and  young,  were  in  attendance.  As  scon  as  one  had 
learned  something  more  than  the  others,  they  would  gather  around  him,  while  he 
would  become  their  teacher.  In  1889  one  hundred  and  fifty  children,  and  as  many 
more  adults,  were  in  siihool.  Similar  interest  was  shown  in  religious  instruction. 
They  sometimes  spent  whole  nights  in  repeating  over  and  over  what  they  had  but 
partly  learned  at  a  religious  service.  Two  years  later  l.<J(Nk  to  2,0iMl  gathered  for 
religious  instruction.  Then  2,(MK)  made  a  pul)lic  cojifession  of  sin,  and  promised  to 
serve  God.  Many  of  them  evidently  did  so  with  imperfect  ideiis  of  what  they  were 
doing,  yet  not  a  few  were  believed  to  give  evidence  of  convei-sion.  Among  the 
Cayuses,  also,  more  were  ready  to  attend  schitol  than  the  mission  family  could  sup- 
ply with  books,  or  had  ability  to  teach.  Morning  and  evening  worship  was  main- 
tained in  all  the  jiriiu'ipal  lodges,  and  a  confession  of  sin  was  made  scmiewhat 
similar  to  that  among  the  Nez  Perces.  For  a  time,  when  Dr.  Whitman  or  Mr. 
.Spalding  traveled  through  the  country,  they  were  followed  by  hundreds  of  Indians, 
eager  to  see  tliem  and  hear  l$ible  truths  at  night.  They  had  a  strong  desire  for  hoes 
and  other  agricultural  implements,  and  were  willing  to  i)art  with  any  property  they 
had,  in  order  to  obtain  them,  even  bringing  their  rifles  to  be  manufactured  into 
such  articles.  From  eighty  to  one  hundred  families  pli.nted  fields  near  Mr.  Spald- 
ing, and  many  near  Dr.  Whitman  raised  enough  provisions-  for  a  comf<u"table  sup- 
ply for  their  families. 

In  1838  Mr.  Spalding  reported  that  his  field  produced  :i,(RH(  bushels  of  potatoes, 
besides  wheat  and  other  articles.  In  the  year  1841  a  saw  and  grist  mill  were  erected 
among  the  Nez  Perces,  and  a  grist  mill  among  the  t'ayuses.  At  Kamiah  a  large 
part  of  the  Indians  gave  up  their  roving  habits  for  a  time,  and  remained  most  of 
the  year  at  home,  and  the  Spokanes  received  Messrs.  Walker  and  Eells  with  glad- 
ness. In  1837  a  church  was  organized,  and  in  September,  1838,  the  first  Indian  was 
received  into  it;  though,  in  .luly  previous,  two  Indian  girls,  who  afterwards  died  in 
Mr,  Spalding's  family,  gave  evidence  of  conversion,  and  were  baptized  as  the  first 
fruits  of  the  work.  In  November,  1839,  .loseph  and  Timothy,  Nez  Perces  Indians, 
were  admitted  to  the  church.  In  184(t  Mr.  Eells  reporte<l  a  school  of  eightj-  scholars. 
In  1839  the  mission  received  a  donation  from  Hev.  H.  IJingham's  church,  at  Hono- 
lulu, Sandwich  Islands,  of  a  snuUl  printing  press,  with  types,  furniture,  paper,  and 
other  things,  of  the  value  ot  |4oO.  The  same  church  had,  the  year  before,  sent 
eighty  dollars  in  money  and  ten  bushels  of  salt  to  the  Oregon  mission.  Mr.  E.  (). 
Hall,  a  printer  at  the  Saiulwich  Islands,  on  account  of  the  health  of  his  wife,  came 
with  the  press,  and  the  first  book  printed  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  so  far  as 
known,  was  issued  that  fall  in  the  Nez  Perces  language.  This  added  nevi'  interest 
to  the  school,  and  other  books  in  the  same  language,  and  one  in  that  of  the  Spo- 
kanes, followed.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall  remained  until  the  sjjring  of  1840,  when  they 
returned  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

But  the  novelty  gradually  wore  ott",  and  discouragements  began.  The  natural 
heart  naturally  resisted  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and  some  of  the  S])okane  chiefs  led 
in  the  opposition.  In  1838  two  Ronum  f'atholic  ])riests  arrived,  spoke  against  the 
missionaries,  and  persuaded  some  of  the  Cay u.ses  to  be  baptized  by  them.  Others 
afterwards  came,  established  a  mission  among  them,  and  one  of  the  lioiiiau  Catliolic 
Indians  instigated  some  others  of  the  tribe  to  treat  Dr.  Whituian  and  Mr.  Gray 
with  much  insolence  and  abuse,  to  destroy  some  proi>erty,  and  to  denumd  jjayinent 
for  the  land,  timber,  fuel  and  water  which  had  been  used.  But  by  moderation  and 
firmness,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  Indians  afterwards 


216 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


admitted  their  puilt,  and  peace  wiw  apparently  restored.  In  1841,  Mr.  Smith,  after 
sufTerlng  no  little  annoyance  from  the  wavaye  manners  of  the  Nez  Pereea,  on 
account  of  the  failure  of  his  own  and  his  wife's  health  [lie  had  located  amonj?  Ellis' 
band  of  Nez  Perces  in  1.S3!),  and  the  following  year  was  pr., vented  from  cultivating 
any  ground  under  pain  of  death,  at  the  command  of  Ellis  himself],  left  that  mission 
and  Oregon,  and  joined  the  mission  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  He  subsecjuently 
returned  to  the  Eastern  States.  In  his  oi^inion  the  Indians  were  pharisaical,  and 
desired  to  make  money  out  of  the  ndssionarles. 

By  February,  1S42,  affairs  seemed  so  discouraging  that  the  Board  of  Missions 
concluded  to  give  up  the  stations  among  the  ("ayuses  and  Nez  Perces,  and  Kev.  J. 
D.  Paris  and  Mr.  W.  II.  Rice,  wlio  had  been  sent  to  the  mission  by  the  way  of  Cape 
Horn  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  having  reached  the  latter  place,  were  induced  to 
remain  there  temporarily,  an  arrangement  which  was  afterwards  maile  permanent 
by  the  Board  at  Boston.  The  roving  habits  of  the  Indians,  and  the  decrease  in  the 
attendance  on  the  schools,  increased  the  trials.  H(;nce,  Messrs.  Sjialding  and  Gray 
were  to  return  East,  and  Dr.  Whitman  was  to  join  the  Spokane  Mission.  In  the 
fall  of  1842,  however,  affairs  took  a  more  favorable  turn  :  the  Spokane  Indians 
showed  more  tlioughtfulness  and  conscientiousness ;  the  school  at  Lapwai  increased 
to  an  average  of  eighty,  and  afterwards  to  over  20);  1,(M)0  Nez  Perces  attended  a 
series  of  meetings  for  nine  or  ten  days,  seven  of  whom  were  examined  for  admission 
to  the  church  ;  the  Cayuse  Saljbath  congregations  varied  in  the  spring  from  200  to 
400,  in  the  fall  from  -'M  to  2(10,  and  less  during  the  rest  of  the  year.  The  two  Nez 
Perces  received  into  the  church  four  years  previous,  and  some  others  of  whom  hope 
was  entertained,  stood  well  as  Christian  workers ;  and  there  was  abundant  evidence 
that  the  truth  was  exerting  a  restraining  influence  over  most  of  the  Indians.  Some 
of  them  w^ere  beconnug  more  settled,  so  that  ')0  Cayust  and  1.50  Nez  Perces  families 
cultivated  from  a  quarter  of  an  acre  to  five  acres  each  ;  one  Nez  Perces  chief  raised 
176  bushels  of  peas,  100  of  corn,  and  300  of  potatoes.  Mrs.  Spalding  had  taught  a 
few  of  the  Nez  Perces  women  to  knit,  card,  spin,  and  weave,  and  a  large  number  to 

sew. 

«  *  «  *  *  « 

It  was  also  beconnng  evident  that  more  Americans  were  soon  to  come  into  the 
territory,  and  they  would  need  something  other  than  Roman  Catholic  preaching. 
All  these  things  determined  the  missionaries  in  the  fall  of  1842,  to  continue  all  the 
stations,  notwithstanding  the  instructions  received  from  the  Board  at  Boston,  until 
the  matter  could  again  l)e  reconsidered.  These,  and  other  considerations  relating  to 
the  possession  of  the  country,  to  which  reference  will  afterwards  be  made,  rendered 
it  expedient,  in  the  opinion  of  the  mission,  for  Dr.  Whitman  to  return  East.  He 
did  so,  leaving  Walla  Walla  October  3d,  1842,  and  reaching  Boston  March  oOth, 
1843.  He  made  such  representations  that  the  Board  ratified  the  action  of  the  nds- 
sion,  in  continuing  all  the  stations.  After  transacting  inii)ortant  business  at  Wash- 
ington, and  visiting  his  friends,  he  returned  to  Oregon.  He  left  the  western 
fr  ntiers  of  Missouri,  Jlay  31st,  and  after  a  short  time  overtook  a  company  of  about 
H  emigrants,  some  of  whom,  wlien  he  was  in  the  East,  he  had  promised  to  aid, 
.  iDUld  they  deterndne  to  go  to  Oregon.  This  journey  was  successfully  made,  and 
iht  ilrst  train  of  emigrant  wagons  rolled  through  to  the  Columbia  River. 

The  Methodist  mission,  founded  by  Jason  Lee  in  the  Willamette 
Volley,  and  which  had  met  with  such  misfortune  by  sickness,  was 
reinforced  by  Elijah  White  and  wife,  Alanson  Beers  and  wife,  W. 
K.  Willson,  Annie  M.  Pitman,  Susan  Downing  and  Elvira  Johnson, 


FOUNDATION  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  MISSIONS. 


217 


who  sailed  from  Boston  in  July,  1836,  and  reached  their  destination 
the  following  May.  The  scourge  of  fever  still  afflicted  the  mission, 
and  it  consequently  bore  ill  repute  among  the  Indians  of  the  Wil- 
lamette, in  spite  of  the  most  earnest  and  conscientious  efforts  of  Mr. 
Lee  and  his  associates  to  win  the  good  will  of  those  for  whose  ben- 
efit  they  had  made  so  great  a  sacrifice.  In  the  fall  of  1837  Rev. 
David  Leslie,  Rev.  H.  K.  W.  Perkins  and  Margaret  Smith  were 
added  to  their  force  of  missionary  laborers.  Their  field  of  opera- 
tions was  enlarged  in  the  spring  of  1838  by  the  establishment  of 
a  mission  at  The  Dalles,  under  the  charge  of  Daniel  Lee  and  H.  K. 
W.  Perkins.  To  do  this  required  money,  if  they  would  continue 
their  plan  of  operations.  The  Protestant  method  of  working  em- 
braced the  instruction  of  the  Indian  in  the  methods  of  procuring 
food  and  clothing  by  his  own  intelligent  effort,  so  that  he  might 
not  experience  those  alternate  seasons  of  feasting  and  famine  to 
which  he  was  subjected  when  relying  solely  upon  the  products  of 
nature.  They  sought,  also,  to  destroy  his  ro\ing  habits  by  trans- 
forming him  from  a  hunter  to  a  farmer.  Jason  Lee  accordingly 
started  East  to  procure  the  necessary  financial  aid,  accompanied  by 
P.  L.  Edwards,  F.  Y.  Ewing  and  two  Indian  boys.  During  his 
absence  Mrs.  Lee  died,  also  Cyrus  Shepard,  who  was  teaching 
school  at  the  Willamette  Mission.  Mr.  Lee  returned  in  1840  with 
a  party  of  forty -eight  persons,  eight  of  them  being  clergymen,  and 
nineteen  ladies.  From  this  time  the  history  of  the  missions  be- 
comes so  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  the  settlements,  that  no 
further  effort  will  be  inade  to  keep  it  distinct. 

A  new  element  was  introduced  into  the  mission  field  in  1838,  in 
the  form  of  two  zealous  Catholic  priests.  Rev.  Francis  N.  Blanchet 
and  Rev.  Modest  Demers  came  overland  from  Montreal  with  the 
regular  express  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  reaching  Vancouver 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  November,  1838,  and  having  baptized  fifty- 
three  persons  while  voyaging  down  the  Columbia.  They  came  pre- 
pared to  stay,  and  not  without  having  received  a  cordial  invitation. 
The  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  such,  at  least,  as  were  of 
Canadian  descent,  had  a  natural  leaning  toward  the  Catholic  church, 
which  had  been  the  one  to  administer  to  the  religious  wants  of  them- 
selves and  parents,  whenever  they  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  come 
within  the  radius  of  Christian  worship.     When  the  Protestant  mis- 


tJls 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMKTTP:  VALLKY. 


sionaries  appeared  it  caused  them  to  long  foi'  the  pivseuee  of  the 
pious  fathers;  not  with  that  insatiable  longing  which  hm  its  source 
in  the  deepest  fountains  of  our  nature;  they  simply  preferred,  in 
case  they  were  to  enjoy  religious  privileges  at  all,  to  liave  those 
with  which  tliey  most  naturally  symi)athi/ed.  Not  only  did  they 
feel  thus  themselves,  but  they  told  the  Indians  that  there  were 
other  and  l^etter  missionaries  than  those  who  had  settled  amongst 
them,  men  who  wore  long  black  gowns  an<l  who  would  teach  them 
the  true  religion.  This  created  a  natural  desire  among  the  tril^es 
to  have  these  holy  men  come  among  them,  a  desire  shared  by  the 
<.)fficers  of  the  company,  who  naturally  preferred  that  religion  which 
Avould  meet  with  the  most  favor  among  their  servants  and  the  In- 
dians, and  which  was  taught  ])y  sulgects  of  Great  Britain.  This 
^vas  the  reason  Avhy  the  society  of  Montreal  sent  out  Fathers  Blan- 
chet  and  Demers,  and  why  the  advent  of  the  "  Black  Gowns,"  as 
they  were  called  by  the  Indians  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Prot- 
estants, Avas  not  unexpected  by  the  natives. 

The  coming  of  Catholics  was  the  signal  for  the  commencement 
of  a  contest  for  spu'itual  control  of  the  Indians,  whose  ^errible 
results  will  be  seen  as  this  narrative  progresses.  For  this  both 
parties  to  the  controversy  were  to  blame.  They  were  all  firmly  set 
in  their  religious  convi<,'tions,  and  intolerant  of  opposing  or  differing 
opinions  to  the  highest  degree.  Embued  by  the  loftiest  of  motives 
themselves,  they  did  not  possess  sufficient  charity  or  liberality  to 
ascribe  equally  exalted  purposes  to  their  opponents.  This  spii'it  is 
exhibited  to  the  present  day  in  the  rancorous  writings  of  certain 
participants  on  either  side,  in  which  they  do  not  hesitate  to  charge 
upon  their  adversaries  crimes  for  which  the  scaffold  and  peniten- 
tiary are  the  only  adequate  penalty ;  or  motives  and  conduct,  which, 
being  proven,  would  cause  them  to  be  shunned  and  despised  by 
every  honorable  man.  It  is  but  a  continuation  of  that  sectarian 
rivalry,  that  battle  of  religious  creeds,  which  has  existed  since  first 
primitive  man  began  to  worship  his  shadow  as  a  manifestation  of 
some  intangible  and  mysterious  power,  and  which  has  caused  so 
much  bloodshed,  misery  and  horror  in  the  world,  and  will  not  end 
until  man  judges  his  fellow  man  more  by  his  motives  and  deeds, 
and  less  by  his  purely  religious  opinions. 

A  few  instances  will  suffice  to  show  the  existence  of  this  spirit 


FOUNDATION  AND  IMiOOUESS  OK  THK  MISSIONS. 


219 


on  both  sides — a  determiiiatioii  to  impress  upon  the  Indians  the  fact 
that  their  particular  creed  and  fc  rm  of  wt)rship  were  tlie  only  true 
and  potent  ones,  and  that  all  others  were  both  false  and  harmful. 
The  Catholics  were  the  chief  aggressors  in  this  respect,  the  more 
energetic  and  crafty  in  undermining  their  opponents,  but  it  was  not 
entirely  lacking  with  the  other  side ;  and  it  must  V)e  admitted  that 
in  the  matter  of  subsequent  acrimonious  writings,  the  Protestants 
lead  the  van.  The  first  jnin  was  fired  and  the  nature  of  the  cam- 
paign  outlined  })y  Dr.  Parker  when  he  fii-st  entered  the  country, 
and  long  before  the  Catholics  appeared  in  the  field.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  Alpowa  Creek,  on  Snake  River,  he  came  upon  a  burial  party 
of  the  Nez  Perces,  who  "  had  prepared  a  cross  to  set  up  at  the  grave," 
and  ])ecause  the  symbol  of  the  crucifixion  offended  his  sight,  and  he 
feared  it  would  make,  as  he  expresses  it,  "a  stepping-stone  to  idol- 
atry," he  took  "  the  cross  the  Indians  had  prepared  and  broke  it  in 
pieces."  As  the  Catholics  had  not  yet  appeared  in  the  field,  they 
consequently  "didn't  know  they  were  hit";  and  this  incident  is  of 
interest  only  to  show  the  spirit  of  religious  intolerance  which  held 
possession  of  Dr.  Parker,  and  which  subsequent  events  proved  to 
also  pervade  his  successors.  When  the  Catholics  appeared  they 
found  the  Protestants  well  entrenched,  and  they  had  either  to  attack 
them  there  or  enter  new  fields.  They  did  both.  Theii-  plan  of 
operations  is  outlined  by  Father  Blanchet,  wdio,  in  after  years,  wrote 
thus  of  the  duties  of  the  missionary  priests: — 

They  were  to  warn  their  flocks  against  tlie  dangera  of  seduction,  to  destroy  the 
false  impression  already  received,  to  enlighten  and  confirm  the  faith  of  the  waver- 
ing and  deceived  consciences,  to  bring  back  to  the  practice  of  religion  and  virtue  all 
of  them  who  had  forsaken  them  for  long  years,  or  who,  raised  in  infidelity,  had 
never  known  nor  practiced  any  of  them.  *  *  *  In  a  word,  they  were  to  run 
after  the  sheep  when  they  were  in  danger.  Hence  their  passing  so  often  from  one 
post  to  another — for  neither  the  white  people  nor  the  Indians  claimed  their  assist- 
ance in  vain.  And  it  was  enough  for  them  to  hear  that  some  false  prophet  (mean- 
ing a  Protestant  missionary)  had  penetrated  into  a  place,  or  intended  visiting  some 
locality,  to  induce  the  missionaries  to  go  there  immediately,  to  defend  the  faith  and 
prevent  error  from  propagating  itself. 

Here  is  a  direct  statement  from  the  Archbishop  at  the  head  of 
the  church,  that  it  was  the  Catholic  plan  to  counteract  the  influence 
of  the  Protestants  where  they  had  already  located  missions,  as  well 
as  to  hasten  to  any  new  point  they  might  select  in  order  to  prevent 
the  founding  of  others.     The  first  overt  act  of  this  kind  was  com- 


220 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


mitted  at  Nesqually,  only  a  few  months  after  their  arrival. 
Blanchet  says: — 


Rev. 


The  first  mission  to  Nesqually  was  made  by  Father  Demers,  who  celebrated  the 
first  maas  in  the  fort  on  April  22,  [1839],  the  day  after  he  arrived.  His  visit  at  such 
a  time  was  forced  upon  him  by  the  establishment  of  a  Methodist  mission  for  the 
Indians.  »  *  *  After  having  given  orders  to  build  a  chapel,  and  said  mass  out- 
side of  the  fort,  he  parted  with  them,  blessing  the  Lord  for  the  success  of  his  mis- 
sion among  the  whites  and  Indians,  and  reached  Cowlitz  on  Monday,  the  thirtieth, 
with  the  conviction  that  his  mission  at  Nesqually  had  left  a  very  feeble  chance  for 
a  Methodist  mission  there. 

The  priests  introduced  a  novelty  in  the  shape  of  a  picture  by 
some  ingenious  artist.  It  was  a  representation  of  a  large  trt^e,  with 
many  branches,  and  the  different  Protestant  sects  were  shown  as 
ascending  the  trunk  and  going  out  upon  the  various  branches,  from 
which  they  dropped  into  a  lire,  the  l)laze  being  fed  by  a  priest  with 
the  heretical  books  of  his  roasting  victims.  This  tickled  the  Indians 
immensely,  and  among  the  Nez  Perces  it  seemed  about  to  capture 
the  whole  tribe.  As  an  offset  to  this,  Mr.  Spalding  had  his  wife 
paint  a  number  of  illustrations  of  prominent  Bible  events,  and  this 
colored  panorama  soon  crowded  the  Catholic  cartoon  from  the  field. 
Thus  was  the  contest  waged  for  several  years.  In  1841,  the  Cas- 
cades Indians  were  won  away  from  the  The  Dalles  Mission  in  spite 
of  Mr.  Waller's  strenuous  efforts  to  hold  them.  This  same  Mr. 
Waller  gave  expression  to  his  feelings  on  doctrinal  points  by  cutting 
down  a  cross  erected  by  the  Catholics  at  Clackamas  village. 

There  was  one  thing  which  gave  the  Catholics  a  decided  advan- 
tage among  the  natives — the  use  of  symbols  and  ceremonies.  Mr. 
Blanchet  says:  /'The  sight  of  the  altar,  vestments,  sacred  vesseh, 
and  great  ceremonies,  were  drawing  their  attention  a  great  deal  more 
than  the  cold,  unavailable  and  long  lay  services  of  Brother  Waller." 
These  were  more  akin  to  their  own  ideas  of  religion  than  the  simple 
services  of  the  Protestants.  The  mystery  was  fascinating  to  them, 
and  they  preferred  to  see  the  priests  "  make  medicine  "  to  hearing 
so  much  "  wa-wa  "  from  the  ministers.  By  thus  working  upon  the 
superstitious  nature  of  the  savages,  and  making  no  effort  to  suddenly 
change  their  old  habits  and  time-honored  customs,  the  Catholics 
gained  a  firm  hold  upon  them,  and  were  thus  able,  gradually,  to 
bring  about  the  desired  change.  ■  The  Protestants,  on  the  contrary, 
endeavored  to  accomplish  too  much  at  once,  and  having  no  censers 


FOUNDATION  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  MISSIONS. 


221 

^  w  J. 


to  swing,  or  imposing  vestments  to  wear,  could  gain  but  slight 
influence  over  the  natives  when  their  opponents  were  about.  There 
was  also  another  distinction  the  Indians  recognized,  and  one  which 
gradually  led  them  to  entertain  a  spirit  of  bitterness  and  hos- 
tility against  the  Pi'otestants.  This  was  their  affiliation  with  the 
American  settlers,  whose  presence  was  highly  distasteful  to  the 
Indians,  the  reasons  for  which  will  be  developed  as  the  narrative 
progi'esses. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

AMKRICAN  EMKIRANTS  ORGANIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 

E  a  I'll/  Aihocaten  of  Oreijon  K  mUj  ration — Effnrts  of  Hall  J.  Kelleij — 
The  American  Society  for  the  Settlement  of  Oregon  Territory — It 
Meiaorialize»  Congress  and  Advertises  fur  Emigrants —  Wyeth,  Kelley 
and  E'lciny  Yonng  come  to  Oregon — Earliest  American  Settlers— 
McLoiit/hliu's  Acconnt  of  Settlement  of  French  Prairie — The  Wil- 
laiiutte  Cattle  Company — Pojtulation  of  (Oregon  in  ISJ^O — First 
Ejf'ort  at  a  Govern  ment — Settlement  at  Willamette  Falls- -Radical 
Change  in  the  Policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  as  Hegards  Set- 
tlers—  The  Companifs  Daep  Txiid  Plan — Attitude  of  the  Comjxiny 
and  its  Chief  Representative — Dr.  JJcLoughlin  Considered — Reasons 
for  the  Bitter  Feelings  Entertained  by  some  Americans — Dr.  Mc- 
Loughlin's  Statement  of  His  Conduct  and  the  Treatment  Received 
from  both  English  ami  Americans — A  Itad  Showing  for  the  Grati- 
tude of  some  Americans — Classification  of  the  Popxdation  as  Regards 
Interests — Reasons  for  Desiring  a  Gavcrnment — A  Petition  Sent  to 
Congress  in  ISJfi — First  Meeting  to  Form  a  Gwcernm^iit — Death  of 
Ewing  Youiuj  Leads  to  the  Organization  of  o  Oovernment  —The 
Officers  Fleeted — Failure  to  Form  a  Constiintionr  Tlie  Wilkes  Ex- 
pedition^ The  Wolf  Meeting — The  First  T^a'd'.tive  Committee — 
Organization  of  the  Provisional  Government  -  'iTic  First  Officers — 
Condition  of  the  Missions — Antagonism  of  the  Indians  to  Ameri- 
inn  Settlers-  Dr.  White  Induces  the  Nez  Perces,  Wascopums  and 
Cay  uses  to  Adopt  a  Code  of  Laws. 


TO  the  missionaries  belongs  the  cietlit  of  opening  the  route  to 
Oregt»n  and  encouraging  that  large  emigi*ation  of  hardy  pio- 
neers of  the  Mississippi  Valley  which  vvat*  the  element  to  finally 
decide  the  Oregon  Question  in  favor  of  the  Unite^l  States.  This 
was  not  their  object  when  they  left  then*  Eastern  liouies,  but  was 
simply  the  natural  sec^uence  of  events.     Emigration  to  Oregon  was 


AMK1UCAN8  OKOANIZK  A  I'KOVIblONAL  (JOVEKNMKNT. 


W  M  tj 


conjiitleretl  ami  advorutt'd  long  bt't'ore  then*  was  any  thought  of 
founding  missions,  but  it  was  deemed  inipractieabh*,  and  remained  to 
be  so  considered  until  the  missionaries  and  their  wives  <lemonstrated 
that  the  intervening  mountains  and  deserts  presenteil  no  l»arrier 
which  might  not  be  overcome  even  by  delicate  ladies.  It  then  be- 
came but  a  matter  of  time,  not  a  question  of  possibility,  when  emi- 
gi'ants  should   lieat  a  well-W(»rn  trail  to  Oregon. 

The  fii-st  recorded  instance  of  an  effort  to  induce  emigration  to 
seek  the  far  distant  coast  of  Oregon,  was  in  l.slT,  when  Hall  J. 
Kelley,  of  Boston,  advocated  the  immediate  occupation  of  the  coun- 
try in  dispute  by  American  settlers.  At  that  tinie  the  rnited  States 
was  making  hei'  first  genuine  effort  tt)  regain  possession  of  the  Col- 
umV)ia,  and  was  negotiating  with  Great  Britain  <m  the  (piestion  of 
the  restoration  of  Fort  George,  or  Astoria.  Mr.  Kelley  became  an 
enthusiast  upon  the  su])ject,  and  continued  his  exertions  throughout 
the  subsequent  years  of  diplomatic  negotiation.  In  lH:>i>  he  organ- 
ized a  company  which  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  f>f  Mas- 
sachusetts as  "  The  x\merican  Society  for  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon 
Territoiy."  This  society  presented  a  memorial  to  Congress  in  IH'M, 
setting  forth  that  they  were  "  engaged  in  the  work  of  opening  to  a 
civilize<l  and  virtuous  population  that  part  of  Western  America 
called  Oregon."  Among  other  statements,  the  memorialists  said: 
"  They  are  convinced  that  if  the  country  should  be  settled  under  the 
auspices  of  the  United  States  of  Ameri(?a,  from  such  of  her  worthy 
sons  who  have  drunk  the  spirit  of  those  civil  and  religious  institii- 
tions  which  constitute  the  living  fountain  and  the  very  perennial 
source  of  her  national  prosperity,  great  benefits  must  result  to  man- 
kind. The}'  believe  that  there  the  skillful  and  persevering  hand  of 
industry  miglit  ))e  employed  with  unparalleled  advantage:  that 
there  science  and  the  arts,  the  invaluable  privilege  of  a  fi'ee  and 
liberal  government,  and  the  refinement  and  ordinances  of  Chris- 
tianity, diffusing  each  its  V)lessing,  would  harmoniously  unite  in 
ameliorating  the  moral  condition  of  the  Indi'i.ns,  in  promoting  the 
comfort  and  happiness  of  the  settlers,  and  in  augmenting  the  wealth 
and  [tower  of  the  Republic."  They  further  stated  "that  the  coun- 
try in  question  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  unoccupied  portions 
of  the  earth,"  and  they  believed  Providence  designed  it  "to  be  the 
residence  of  a  people  ^vhose  singular  advantages  will  give  them  un- 


224 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


exanipled  power  and  prosperity."  They  continued :  "  That  these 
things  *  *  *  have  settled  in  the  policy  of  the  British 
nation  the  determined  purpose  of  possessing  and  enjoying  the 
country  as  their  own,  and  have  induced  their  Parliament  to  confer 
on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  chartered  privileges  for  occupying 
witli  their  settlements  the  fertile  banks  of  the  Columbia.  *  »  * 
Already  have  the}  flourishing  towns,  strong  fortifications  and  culti- 
vated fields.  *  *  *  Their  largest  town  is  Vancouver, 
which  is  situated  on  a  beautiful  plain,  in  the  region  of  tide  water, 
on  the  northern  bank  of  the  C<»lumbia.  *  *  *  Every- 
thing, either  in  the  organization  of  the  government,  or  in  the  busy 
and  various  opeiations  of  the  settlements  of  this  place,  at  Walla 
Walla,  at  Fort  Colville  and  at  DeFuca,  in(?.'cate  the  intention  of  the 
English  to  colonize  tlie  country.  Now,  therefore,  your  memorial- 
ists, '  !  behalf  of  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
would  respectfull}'  ask  Congress  to  aid  them  in  carrying  into  opera- 
tion the  great  purposes  of  their  institution;  to  grant  them  troops, 
artillery,  military  arms  and  m\initions  of  war  for  the  security  of  the 
contt*m plated  settlement;  to  incorporate  tlieir  society  with  the 
power  to  extinguisii  the  Indian  title  to  such  tracts  and  extent  of 
territory,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  and  the  junction  of  the 
Multnomah  with  the  Columbia,  as  may  be  adequate  to  the  lauda- 
ble objects  and  pursuits  of  the  settlers;  and  with  such  oiLn'  powers, 
rights  and  immunities  as  may  be  at  least  e  pial  and  concurrent  to 
those  given  by  Parlia.nent  to  the  Hudson's  P>ay  Company;  and  such 
as  are  not  repugnant  to  the  stipulations  of  the  contention,  made 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  iStates,  wherein  it  was  agreed 
that  any  country  on  the  Northwest  coast  of  America,  to  be  westward 
v»f  the  Hocky  Mountains,  should  be  free  and  open  to  the  citizens  and 
subjects  of  the  two  powers,  for  a  term  of  years;  and  to  grant  them 
such  other  rights  and  privileges  as  may  cvui tribute  to  the  means  of 
establishing  a  respectable  and  prosperous  community." 

Congress  did  not  see  fit  to  encourage  this  scheme  of  coloniza- 
tion ;  and  it  may  well  be  said  tliat,  had  Congress  been  relied  upon, 
Oregon  would  inevitably  have  become  a  dependency  of  Great  Brit- 
ain. That  Itody  of  concentrated  national  \visdom  lagged  several 
years  in  the  rear  of  the  line  of  progress,  and  it  was  only  by  constant 
effort  that  through  it  the  people  were  enabled  to  have  their  victories 


TT 


AMERICANS  ORGANIZE  A    I'KOVISIONAI.  (iOV  KItN  M  KNI". 


:■_'.) 


finally  recognized  and  ratified.  This  halting  and  dilatory  conduct 
of  the  national  legislature  placed  the  acquisition  of  Oregon  in  con- 
stant jeopardy.  The  society,  however,  which  had  constituted  Mr. 
Kelley  its  general  agent,  continued  its  efforts  despite  the  supineness 
of  Congress.  Tn  l<s;n  a  pamphlet  was  published  ^^ntitled — "  A 
general  circular  to  all  persons  of  good  character  who  wish  to  emi- 
grate to  Oregon  Territory."  The  region  covered  by  that  designa- 
tion is  defined  in  the  head  lines  and  opening  paragraph,  which 
read:  "Ore(jon  Skiti-emknt. —  To  be  commenced  in  the  spring  of 
iSj2  on  the  delightful  and  fertile  banks  of  the  Colun.bia  River. 
It  has  been  for  many  years  in  serious  contein[)latioii  to  settle  with 
a  free  and  enlightened  but  redundant  population  fnmi  the  Amer- 
ican Republic  that  portion  of  her  territory,  called  Oregon,  bound- 
ing on  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  lying  l)etween  the  forty-s^'cond  and 
forty-ninth  parallels  of  N.  latitude."  It  was  well  known  by  every 
intelligent  man  that  the  Ignited  States  claimed  as  ta.  north  as  the 
Russian  l>oundary  at  fifty-four-forty,  but  that  forty-nine  had  been 
offered  as  a  compromise  line;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  society 
thus  defined  Oregon  within  the  limits  generally  believed  at  that 
time  it  would  eventually  assume.  The  cry,  "fifty-four-forty-or- 
fight,"  had  not  then  ))een  heard,  nor  had  tht  people  as  yet  been 
aroused  to  such  a  pitch  of  interest  in  this  subject.  That  was  re- 
served for  the  time  when  negotiations  were  again  resumed,  prior  to 
the  settlement  of  the  (piestion  in  1S4(>.  The  pamphlet  gave  the 
names  of  thirty -st^ven  agents  of  the  society,  to  whom  persons  de- 
siring to  emigrate  should  make  application  for  proper  certificates 
and  full  infoi'mation ;  and  these  assents  were  h^cated  at  various 
points  throughout  the  Union.  One  of  these  wjis  Nathaniel  J.  Wy- 
cth,  wiiose  unf(»rtunate  fur  and  salmon  ventures  on  the  Columbia 
have  been  related.  It  was  arranged  for  the  expedition  to  start  from 
St.  Louis  in  March,  1  S;{2,  with  a  train  of  v^agons  and  a  good  supply 
of  stock.  A  town  was  to  l)e  laid  out  at  the  junction  of  the  Co- 
hnnbia  and  Multnomah,  and  each  emigrant  was  to  receive  a  town 
lot  and  a  farm,  also,  a  lot  in  a  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
these  places  being  already  platted  on  paper.  The  failure  of  Con- 
gi'ess  to  take  any  action  in  the  matter  ended  the  colonization  scheme 
for  that  year.  Mr.  VVyeth,  it  will  be  remendiered,  crossed  the 
country  with  a  small  party  of  Boston  men,  and  returned  the  next 


TT 


•2-2i\ 


IIISTOIJY  OK  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY 


year.  H»-  a«rjiin  visited  the  Cohinihia  in  1834,  accompanied  hy  Ja- 
sim  Lee's  party  of  missionaries.  Mr.  Kelley  had  undertaken  to 
send  a  ^?lliJt  loaded  with  sup})lies  to  the  Cohini])ia,  l)Ut  unsuccess- 
fully. He  then  endeavored  to  open  a  route  of  trade  through  Mex- 
ico; liut  in  that  country  the  revenue  officers  pounced  upon  his 
ir»KKls  and  confiscated  the  gi'eater  portion  of  them.  He  still  perse- 
veretl,  and  falling  in  with  Ewing  Young,  the  independent  trader 
whose  ojierations  c>n  the  coast  have  been  related,  persuaded  him 
and  s»'veral  others  to  accompany  him  to  Oregon.  They  reached 
Vancouver  October  15,  IXJU.  Mr-  Knlley's  health  failed  him,  and 
he  departed  for  home  the  following  March,  having  lost  !}>.'}(»,(><  10  in 
liis  effort.s  to  colonize  Oivgon. 

Mr.  Young,  and  others  who  had  come  with  Mr.  Kelley,  or  with 
AN'yeth's  party,  remained  after  the  departure  of  those  gentlemen — 
among  them  were  James  A.  O'Neil,  T.  J.  Hiib])ar(l,  Courtney  M. 
AValker  and  Solomon  Smith.  There  were  also  tAvo  men  of  French 
descent — Joseph  Gei'vais  and  Etinne  Lucier — who  had  come  out 
with  Wilson  G.  Hunt's  party,  and  whose  sympathies  were  Ameri- 
can. All  told,  aside  from  the  missioniU'ies,  there  were  about  twenty- 
five  men  in  (Jregou  who  were  favorable  to  the  United  States,  most 
nf  them  being  mountaineers  with  Indian  wives.  Four  of  the  inde- 
j>endent  settlers  were  .John  Turner,  George  Gay,  John  Woodwortli 
and  Dr.  Bailey,  the  sui'vivors  of  a  })arty  of  nine,  which  left  Califor- 
nia in  the  summer  of  1835  for  Oregon.     The  other's  were   Daniel 


yy. 


11 


iiiier, Saundei's,  an  Irishman  called  "  Big  Tom,"  a  man  whose 

name  is  unknown,  anil  a  squaw.  Turner  was  one  of  the  survivors 
of  the  I'mptjua  massa -re  of  1828.  The  incidents  attending  their 
arrival  are  thus  related  by  Hon.  J.  W.  jVesmith,  who  had  them  from 
the  lips  of  the  survivors: — 

The  party  had  forty-seven  head  of  good  horneH  and  a  eomplete  outfit  for  trai)i)ing. 
About  the  middle  of  June,  1835,  the  party  enciniped  for  the  night  near  h  place 
known  as  "The  Point  of  Rocks,"  on  the  south  bank  of  Rogue  River.  Early  the 
next  morning  the  ludianK  commenced  dropping  into  camp,  a  few  at  a  tiiiie.  Oay 
wati  nn  guard,  and  not  liking  the  appearance  of  the  Indians,  awoke  Turner,  who 
wa-s  the  leader  of  the  party,  and  the  latter  conversed  with  t\\"  savages  through  liis 
si|uaw,  who  spoke  Chinook.  Turner  concluded  that  thei^  wa«  no  haini  to  l>e 
apprehendtHl  from  their  dusky  visitors,  and,  forgetting  the  fearful  massacre  v.hich 
he  so  narrowly  escajKHl  with  Smith's  party  seven  years  before,  near  the  UmiMiiia, 
the  party  bi-car.ie  careless.  In  the  meantime,  some  four  or  five  hundred  Indians 
had  assembled  in  and  about  the  camp  of  the  little  ,)arty,  and  at  a  8i<:  '>d 
furiously  attacked  the  white  men  with  clubs,  bows  and  arrows  and  knives.     1  he 


AMEKICANS  OKOAMZK  A   IM{OVI810iVAL  OOVKUNMKXT. 


0  0 


'li 


attack  was  so  sudden  and  unexpected  that  the  Indians  obtained  three  of  t)\e  eight 
guns  with  which  Turner  and  liis  party  were  armed.  The  struggle  of  the  trappers 
for  life  was  desperate  and  against  fearful  odds.  The  eiglit  men  seized  wliatever  tiiey 
could  lay  their  bands  on  for  defense.  8"me  of  them  discharged  their  rifles  in  the 
bosom  of  their  assailants  and  then  clubbed  their  guns  and  laid  about  them  with  the 
barrels.  Turner,  who  was  a  herculean  Kentucky  giant,  not  being  able  to  reach  his 
rifle,  seized  a  big  flr  limb  from  the  camp  ttie  and  laid  about  him  lustily,  knocking 
his  assailants  right  and  left.  At  one  time  tlie  savages  had  Oay  down  and  were 
pounding  him,  but  they  were  crowded  so  thick  as  to  impede  the  force  of  their  1)1owm. 
Old  Turner,  seeing  Gaj''s  peril,  made  a  few  vigorous  blows  witli  his  limb  whicii 
released  him,  and  the  latter,  springing  to  his  feet,  dealt  fearful  cuts,  thrusts,  slashes 
and  stabs  with  his  long,  sharp  sheath-knife  upon  the  naked  carcasses  of  the  dusky 
crowd.  The  other  men,  following  Turner's  and  Cray's  example  fought  with  tlie 
fi'ergy  of  despair  and  drove  the  Indians  from  their  camp.  Dan  Miller  and  another 
tranrnr  were  killed  upon  the  spot,  while  the  six  survivors  of  the  melee  were  all 
mo,  Ipss  seriously  wounded.  While  the  flght  was  going  on,  the  H((uaws  drove 
•  ii'  '  i.erd  of  horses  and  carried  off' all  of  the  baggit,e  and  can)i)-ei|uipage,  togetlier 
ui'. ,:  thne  rifles.  Three  of  the  r<?nuvining  guns  '..ere  rendered  useless  by  having 
their  stocks  broken  ott"  in  the  ciubbing  process.  The  six  badly  wounded  survivors 
took  to  the  brush  and  kept  the  Indians  at  buy  with  tlieir  two  renuiining  rifles. 
Hy  traveling  in  the  night-time  and  hiding  in  the  brush  in  the  day-time,  they  man- 
aged to  elude  the  Indians,  l)ut  sutiered  terribly  from  their  wounds  and  for  want  of 
provisions  and  eh)thing.  Dr.  Bailey  had  received  a  fearful  wound  from  a  tonia- 
liawk,  which  split  his  lower  jaw  from  the  \wh\i  of  the  chin  to  tlie  throat.  From 
want  of  proper  treatment,  the  parts  never  properly  united,  uud  nuiry  old  picmeev 
will  recollect  the  unsightly  scar  that  liisHgured  his  face  for  life.  Haunders'  wounds 
disabled  him  from  traveling,  and  he  was  left  of.  the  (South  Unipiiua,  and  "Big  Tom" 
was  left  on  the  North  Fmpqua.  The  Indians  subset|uently  reported  to  Dr.  Mc- 
Loughlin  that  l)oth  men  had  died  of  their  wounds  wliere  they  were  left.  Turner, 
Day,  Woodwortb  and  Dr.  Bailey,  after  reaching  the  head  of  the  Willamette  Valley, 
(iiflered  about  the  route.  Turner  mistook  the  Willamette  for  the  (Joluml)ia.  Gay, 
in  his  sea  voyar^  s,  hud  seen  a  map  or  chart  shoving  that  the  (Columbia  ran  west,  and 
determined  tc  tcii.e  due  north  in  search  of  the  great  river,  uj)on  the  banks  of  which 
he  expecttKi  ■  i  ti  !  .'  .udson's  Bay  trappers  and  traders.  Turner,  Bailey  and  Wood- 
worth  folio  I'i.  -I',  u  :  >ie  Willamette  River  until,  in  a  famishing  condition,  they 
Htruck  the  >iet.,o'.o'  i.,i.-<sion  below  Walem.  Gay  kept  along  the  foot-hills  on  the 
west  side  of  the  vai.y  ^  id  crossed  the  Kickreal  about  where  Dallas  now  stiinds, 
and  crossed  the  Yamiiiil  Iliver  at  the  falls  near  Lafayette,  pu.  sing  along  on  the  we.st 
«i('"  of  Wapatoo  Lake,  and  'Tossing  the  Tualatin  Plains,  leacl^-d  Wyeth's  'rading 
l)ost  on  Hauvie's  Island  some  time  in  August.  Before  separatiLg  from  his  compan- 
ions, (iay  had  cut  up  his  bucikskin  breeches  to  make  moccasins  'or  the  party,  an<l 
made  the  most  of  the  journey  in  a  naked  condition,  with  the  exception  of  the 
tattered  remnants  of  an  old  shirt.  The  mos(iuitoes  necriy  devoured  him  in  the 
<'<)lu!nbia  i)ottoms.  This  perilous  trip  of  nearly  fiOO  miles  was  made  nearly  flfty 
years  ago,  and  was  a  terrible  test  of  the  endurance  of  a  miked,  wounded,  and  starv- 
iiifr  man. 


There  m  u  iiowever,  other  Ht'ttleis  tluiii  tlie  Aiiiericiius.  In 
1H28,  Sir  George  Simpson,  Governor  of  the  IIiulson'H  Bay  Company, 
\"ho  was  then  on  an  official  visit  to  Fort  Vancouver,  took  possession 
of  the  Willamette  Falls,  for  the  purpose,  as  expressed  by  him,  of 


228 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


locating  there  a  colony  of  their  retired  servants.  It  had  previously 
l)een  the  policy  of  the  company  not  to  permit  settlements  to  be  made 
by  theii'  servants  whose  term  of  contract  had  expired,  since  they 
deemed  theni  detrimental  to  the  preservation  of  this  region  as  a  fur- 
producing  wilderness.  They  wanted  no  settlements  here  whatever, 
neither  British  nor  American.  This  move  at  Willamette  Falls  was 
not  pei'sisted  in,  l>ut  a  few  years  later  some  of  their  ex-servants  located 
about  Champoeg,  oi-  French  Pvairie,  in  Marion  county,  and  became 
quite  a  flourishing  colony;  and  :  •'^  their  desc*^ndants  live  to  the 
present  day,  useful  and  industriou         ^ens. 

On  tlie  subject  of  the  first  settlements  in  the  valley,  Dr.  McLough- 
lin's  posthumous  manuscript  has  much  to  say.  The  Etinne  Lucier, 
spoken  of  by  him,  is  the  one  mentioned  above.  He  first  settled  on 
the  east  side  of  the  AN'ilhunette,  opposite  the  city  of  Poi-tland,  where 
he  lived  several  yeais  I  before  remo\nng  to  French  Prairie.  The 
Doctor  says : — 

In  5824  I  eame  to  this  country  to  superintend  the  management  of  tlie  Hudson's 
Bay  Coinpuny's  trade  on  tlie  coast,  and  we  came  to  the  determination  to  abandon 
Astoria,  and  go  to  Fort  Vancouver,  aa  it  was  a  place  where  we  could  cultivate  the  soil 
and  raise  our  own  provisions.  In  March,  1825,  we  moved  there  and  that  spring  plante<l 
potatoes  and  sowed  two  bui^hels  of  peas,  the  only  grain  we  had,  and  all  we  had.  In 
the  fall  I  received  from  New  York  Factory-  a  bushel  spring  wheat,  a  bushel  oats,  a 
bushel  barley,  a  bushel  Indian  corn  and  a  quart  of  timothy,  and  all  of  which  was 
sown  in  proper  time,  and  which  produce  well  except  the  Indian  corn,  for  which  the 
ground  was  too  poor  and  the  nights  rather  cool,  and  continued  extending  our  im- 
provements. In  1828,  the  crop  was  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  dispense  with  the  im- 
portation of  Hour,  etc. 

In  182.5,  from  what  I  had  seen  of  the  country,  I  formed  the  conclusion  from  the 
mildness  and  salubrity  of  the  climate,  that  this  was  the  finest  portion  of  North 
America  that  I  had  seen  for  the  residence  of  civilized  man,  and  aa  the  farmers  could 
not  cultivate  the  ground  without  cattle,  and  tus  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  only 
twenty-seven  (27)  head,  big  and  small,  and  as  I  saw  at  the  time  no  possibility  of  getting 
cjittle  by  sea,  and  that  was  too  exi)ensive,  I  determined  that  no  cattle  should  be 
killed  at  Vancouver  except  one  bull  calf  every  year  for  rennet  to  make  cheese,  till 
we  had  an  ample  stock  to  meet  all  our  demands,  and  to  assist  settlers,  a  resolution 
to  which  I  strictly  adhered,  and  the  first  animal  killed  for  beef  was  in  1838;  till  that 
time  we  had  lived  on  fresh  and  salt  venison  and  wild  fowl.  From  morality  and 
policy  I  stopped  the  sale  and  issue  of  spiritous  licjiior  to  the  Indians,  but  to  do  this 
eft'ectually  I  had  to  stop  the  sale  of  liquor  to  all  whites.  In  1834,  when  Mr.  Wyeth, 
of  Boston,  came,  he  tiegan  by  selling  liquor,  but  on  my  assuring  him  that  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  sold  no  liquor  to  whites  or  Indians,  he  immediately  adopted 
the  same  rule. 

In  1828,  Etinne  Lucier,  a  VVillamett«  tripper,  asked  me  if  I  thought  this  would 
become  a  settled  country.  I  told  him  wherever  wheat  grew,  he  might  depend  it 
would  become  a  farming  country.    He  asked  me  what  assistance  I  would  afibrd 


AMKRIOANS  omJANIZE  A  PROVISIOXAL  OOVKRXMKNT. 


«    w    t' 


him  to  settle  as  a  farmer.  I  told  hiiu  I  would  loan  him  seed  to  sow  and  wheat  to 
feed  himself  and  family,  to  be  returned  from  the  produce  of  his  farm,  and  sell  him 
such  implements  as  were  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  store,  at  fifty  per  cunt,  on 
prime  cost.  But  a  few  days  after  he  came  back  and  told  me  he  thought  there  was 
too  remote  a  prospect  of  this  becoming  a  civilized  country,  and  as  there  were  no 
clerfi;ymen  in  the  country,  he  a^ked  me  a  passage  for  his  family  in  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  boats,  to  which  I  acceded.  He  started  in  September  to  meet  the 
boata  at  the  mountain ;  the  express  came  in  too  late  and  he  had  to  return,  and  went 
to  hunt  for  the  winter. 

In  1829  he  again  applied  to  begin  to  farm.  I  told  him  that  since  he  had 
spoken  to  me  I  heard  that  several  trappers  would  apply  for  assistance  to  begin  to 
farm,  and  that  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  come  to  a  distinct  understanding  with 
him  to  serve  as  a  rule  for  those  who  might  follow.  That  the  Hudson's  Bav  Company 
were  bound  under  heavy  penalties  to  discharge  none  of  their  servants  in  the  Indian 
country,  and  bound  to  return  them  to  the  place  where  they  engaged  them.  That 
tills  wi»jj  done  to  prevent  vagabonds  being  let  loose  among  the  Indians  and  incite 
tliem  t:^  hostility  to  the  whites.  But  as  I  knew  he  was  a  good,  honest  man,  and 
none  but  sucli  need  apply,  and  as  if  he  went  to  Canada  u  .  unfortunately  died 
l)efore  his  children  could  provide  for  themselves  they  would  Ijc,  )me  objects  of  pity 
and  a  burthen  to  others.  For  these  rea.sons  I  would  a.ssist  him  to  settle.  But  I 
must  keep  him  and  all  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  servants  whom  I  allowed  to 
settle,  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  books  as  servants,  so  as  not  to.  expose  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  me  to  a  fine,  but  they  could  work  for  themselves,  and 
no  service  would  be  exacted  from  them. 

Many  of  the  Canadians  objected  to  go  to  the  Willamette,  because  it  was  to  become 
American  Territory,  which  I  told  them  it  would,  as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in 
1825  otHcially  informed  that  on  no  event  could  the  British  Government  claim  extend 
south  of  the  Columbia,  and  that  they  were  afraid  they  would  not  have  the  same 
ach'antages  as  American  citizens.  I  told  them  from  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  tlie 
extent  of  prairie  and  tlie  easy  access  from  the  sea,  that  the  Willami'tte  (they  must 
admit)  was  tlie  best  and  only  place  adapted  to  form  a  settlement  whicli  would  have 
a  beneflcial  effect  on  the  whole  country  north  of  8an  Francisco,  where  we  could 
assist  and  protect  tliem  from  the  Indians  in  case  of  difficulty,  -^nd  as  to  advantages 
1  did  not  know  what  they  would  have,  but  this  I  knew,  that  the  An-crican  Uovern- 
ment  and  i)eople  knew  only  two  classes  of  persons,  rogues  and  lionest  men,  that 
they  pu!iished  the  first  -ind  protected  the  last,  and  it  depended  only  upon  them- 
selves to  what  class  tliey  would  belpng. 

Others  wanted  to  go  and  live  with  the  relatives  of  tlieir  wives,  but  as  their  chil- 
dren would  be  brought  up  with  tlie  sympathies  and  feelings  of  Indians,  and  as  the 
half-breeds  are  in  general  leaders  among  Indians,  and  they  would  be  a  thorn  in  tlie 
side  of  the  whites,  I  insisted  they  should  go  to  the  Willamette,  where  their  cliildren 
could  be  brougnt  up  as  whites  and  Christians,  tnd  brought  to  cultivate  the  ground 
and  imbiied  with  the  feelings  and  sympathies  of  whites,  and  where  they  anil  their 
mothers  would  serve  as  hostages  for  the  good  behavior  of  their  relatives  in  the 
interior.  As  Indians  judge  of  whites  by  themselves,  and  I  think  if  they  injure 
whites  on  their  lands,  the  whites  would  revenge  it  by  murdering  their  Indian  rela- 
tives among  them,  and  as  the  settlement  increased  by  the  addition  of  Indian  women 
half-breeds,  ■  lie  turbulence  of  the  Indian  tribes  would  diminish;  and  certainly  the 
Cayuse  war  would  not  have  been  nuelled  so  easily  as  it  was  if  other  hall-breeds  had 
not  joined  the  Amerii^ans;  and  I  have  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  say,  what  must 
be  admitted  by  all  who  know  them,  that  the  Canadian  trappers  and  lialf-breeds 
who  have  settled  as  farmers,  are  as  peaceable,  orderly,  neighborly  and  industrious 
a  set  of  men  an  any  in  the  settlement ;  and  that  so  far  the  Canadian  settlement  has 


•»;{() 


IIISTOKY  <»K  WIM.AMKTTK  VAIJ.KT. 


produced  and  supi)lied  three-fourths  of  the  grain  that  has  been  exported.    [Every 
pioneer  will  lieartily  endorse  this  eulogy  of  the  people  of  French  Prairie.] 


I  made  it  a  rule  that  none  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  servants  should  be 
allowed  to  join  the  settlements  unless  he  had  fifty  pounds  sterling  l»efore  him,  as  he 
recjuired  that  sum  to  supply  him  with  clothing  and  implements.  He  tliat  begins 
business  on  credit  is  seldom  so  careful  and  industrious  as  he  who  does  business  on 
his  own  means.  By  this  I  effected  two  objects— I  made  the  men  more  saving  and 
industrious,  and  attached  them  to  their  farms.  Ff  1  had  not  done  so,  they  would 
have  abandoned  on  the  least  diflrtculty.  But  having  their  means  invested  on  their 
improvements,  they  saw  if  they  abandoned  the  loss  would  be  theirs,  they  therefore 
j)ersiHted  and  succeeded.  When  the  settlement  was  formed,  though  the  American 
trappers  had  no  mesins,  they  were  assisted  on  credit,  and  nil  in  three  years  paid  up 
from  the  produce  of  their  farms. 

The  presence  of  American  settlers  was  extremely  distasteful  to 
the  company;  not  simply  because  they  were  Americans,  hut  because 
they  were  American  setthu's.  Tlie  officers  of  tlie  company  were 
instructed  not  to  enccmrage  tliem  in  any  way.  It  stood  ready  to 
sell  to  the  settlers  at  a  high  price,  but  not  to  pinvliase  from  them 
anything  whatever.  They  were  without  cattle,  excei)t  a  few  rented 
to  them  by  the  company,  and  until  they  possessed  them  could  not 
be  or  feel  inde[)endent  of  the  overshadowing  corporation.  To 
I'emedy  tliis  evil,  Young  and  Jason  L"e  (who  never  let  the  fact  that 
he  canu>  to  Oregon  simply  as  a  missionary  prevent  him  from  advanc- 
■ng  American  interests  whenever  possible),  set  on  foot  a  scheme  to 
[)roeure  a  supply  of  cattle  from  the  vast  herds  grazing  about  the 
Spanish  Missions  in  California.  The  effort  was  opposed  by  the 
coni})any,  but  with  the  aid  of  Lieutenant  William  A.  Slocum,  an 
officer  of  the  United  States  Navy,  who  advanced  money  and  gave  a 
free  passage  to  Califoi'uia  in  liis  vessel  to  those  who  went  after  the 
cattle,  it  was  completely  successful,  and  "The  Willamette  Cattle 
Company ''  was  organized.  The  party  which  went  to  California 
was  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Young,  and  was  composed  of  P. 
L.  Edwards  (who  kept  a  diary  of  the  expedition,  whicli  is  now  pre- 
served in  the  State  Library  at  Sacramento  and  numbered  23,989), 
Hawchurst,  Carmichael,  Bailey,  Erequette,  DesPau,  Williams,  Tib- 
betts,  (ireorge  (ray.  Wood,  Camp,  Turner,  and  enough  others  to 
make  a  company  of  about  twenty  men,  all  inured  to  the  dangers  and 
privations  of  mountain  life.  They  collected  a  band  of  seven  hundred 
cattle,  at  three  dollars  per  head,  and,  with  much  labor  and  difficulty, 
succeeded  in  bringing  six  hundred  of  them  into  the  valley.     They 


AMIMMC.WS  (HKIANMZK   A    IM{(;VISI()N  A  I.  (ioVKItVMKXT, 


•j;n 


had  much  trouble  with  the  Indians  on  Siskiyou  Mountain  and  along 
Rogue  River,  and  Gay,  without  any  foundation,  charges  the  com- 
pany with  stirring  up  the  Indians  to  cut  them  off.  The  fact  is,  as 
Edwards'  diary  [dainly  shows,  the  trouble  grew  out  of  the  unpro- 
\'oked  nnu'der  by  one  of  the  party  of  an  Indian  who  visited  their 
camp  on  Klamath  River.  Turner,  Gay  and  Bailey  were  three  of 
four  survivors  of  the  Amei-ican  trapping  party  which  had  been 
attacked  on  Rogue  River  two  years  before,  and  shot  this  Indian  in 
a  spirit  of  revenge.  It  is  certainly  difficiflt  to  trace  any  agency  of 
the  company  in  this  affair,  or  to  assign  any  other  cause  than  wanton 
murder  for  their  trouble  with  the  Indians.  The  arrival  of  the  cat- 
tle was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  settlers,  as  it  guaranteed  them  com- 
plete independence  of  the  company,  and  demonstrated  that  Ameri- 
cans could  settle  in  the  Willamette  Valley  with  an  assurance  of 
being  self-supporting. 

Such  is  the  version  of  the  cattle  question,  as  it  come,s  from  Amer- 
ican sources.  .  Dr.  McLonghlin  gives  quite  another  tone  to  it.  His 
document  says: — 

Every  settler  had  as  much  wheat  on  loan  as  he  wanted  to  begin  with,  and  1  lent 
them  each  two  cows,  as  in  1825  we  had  only  twenty-seven  head,  big  and  small,  old 
and  young.  If  I  sold  they  would  of  course  be  entitled  to  the  increase,  and  I 
would  not  have  the  means  to  assist  the  new  settlers,  and  the  settlement  would  be 
retarded,  as  those  purchsisers  who  offered  me  two  hundred  dollars  for  a  cow  would 
put  such  a  price  on  the  increase  as  would  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  poor  settlers 
to  buy.  This  would  prevent  industrious  men  from  settling.  For  these  reasons  I 
would  not  sell,  but  loaned,  as  I  say,  two  cows  to  each  settler,  and  in  case  the  increase 
of  settlers  miglit  be  greater  than  we  could  afford  to  supply  with  cattle,  1  reserved 
the  right  to  take  any  cattle  I  required  (above  his  two  cows)  from  any  settlers  to  assist 
new  settlers.  To  the  Methodist  Mission,  as  it  was  a  public  institution,  I  lent  seven 
oxen,  one  bull  and  eight  cows  with  their  calves.  In  the  beginning,  several  settlers 
lost  cattle,  poisoned  by  eating  water  hemlock.  It  has  been  said  by  the  late  Mr. 
Thurston,  Delegate  from  Oregon,  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  that  settlers  paid  for 
dead  cattle.  This  is  a  wanton  falsehood,  as  it  is  well  known  to  all  old  settlers  that 
no  settler  paid  a  cent  for  dead  cattle.     It  was  a  loss  to  the  company. 

In  1836  we  found  means  of  forming  a  company  to  go  to  California  for  cattle.  I 
took  half  the  stock  for  the  Hudson's  Baj'  Company,  so  that  by  purchasing  a  large 
number  (as  the  expense  of  driving  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  was  the  same)  as  it 
would  make  the  cattle  cheaper.  Those  of  the  settlers  that  had  means  i)ut  it  in  the 
stock  ;  those  that  had  none,  engaged  as  drivers  at  one  dollar  per  day,  to  be  |)aid  in 
cattle  at  their  actual  cost.  Mr.  Slocum,  who  came  here  in  a  chartered  vessel,  gave 
them  a  passage  gratis  from  this  place  to  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Ewing  Young  was  se- 
lected to  conduct  the  party.  Mr.  P.  L.  Edwards,  who  came  with  Messrs.  Lee,  of 
the  Methodist  Mission,  but  now  a  lawyer  in  California,  was  appointed  I'reasurer. 
They  brought,  1  think,  about  seven  hundred  hea^l  of  cattle,  which  Rost  eight  dollars 
per  head  rendered.     In  the  Willamette,  the  settlers  kept  the  tame  and  broken-in 


fi 


•2:\-2 


IllSTOISY  OK   WILLAMKTTK  VALLKY. 


oxen  they  had  belonging  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  gave  their  California 
wild  cattle  in  the  place,  so  tliat  they  found  themselves  stocked  with  tame  cattle 
which  cost  them  only  eight  dollars  j)er  head,  and  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company,  to 
favor  the  settlers,  tooli  calves  in  place  of  grown-up  cattle,  because  tlie  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  wanted  them  for  beef.  These  calves  would  grow  up  before  they  were  re- 
((uired. 

At  the  close  of  1^37,  the  iiulepen(h'nt  popuhition  of  Oregon  con- 
sisted of  forty-nine  souls,  about  equally  divided  between  missionary 
attaches  and  settlers.  With  l)ut  few  exceptions  the  arrivals  during 
the  next  two  years  were  solely  of  persons  connected  with  the  various 
missions,  whose  advent  has  already  ))een  noted.  Those  coming  in 
1831)  were.  Rev.  J.  S.  (ii-itfin  and  wife,  and  Mr.  Munger  and  \v\le, 
who  liad  made  an  unsuccessfid  effort  to  found  an  independent  mis- 
sion on  Snake  River,  and  Ben  A\'right,  Robert  Shortess,  Sidney 
Smith,  Lawson,  Reiser,  (xeiger,  and  Rlair,  a  blacksmith.  By  add- 
ing the  following  list  of  arrivals  in  1840,  to  those  previously  men- 
tioned, the  population  of  Oregon  at  that  time  will  be  (piite  accu- 
rately listed.  Ml",  (iray  thus  suiumarizes  the  arrivals  of  that  sea- 
son : — 

In  184(»— Methodist  Episcopal  Protestant  Mission— Mrs.  JiCe,  second  wife  of  Rev. 
Jason  Lee;  Ilev.  .1.  H.  Frost  and  wife ;  Rev.  A.  F.  Waller,  wife  and  two  children; 
Rev.  W.  W.  Kone  and  wife;  Rev.  G.  Hines,  wife  and  .sister;  Rev.  L.  H.  Judson, 
wife  and  two  children;  Rev.  ,1.  L.  Parish,  wife  and  three  children;  Rev.  G.  P. 
Richards,  wife  and  three  children;  Rev.  A.  P.  Olley  and  wife.  Laymen — Mr.  Geo. 
Abernethy,  wife  and  two  children  ;  Mr.  H.  Campbell,  wife  and  one  child  ;  Mr.  W. 
W.  Raymond  and  wite;  Mr.  H.  B.  Brewer  and  wife;  Dr.  J.  Ij.  Bai)Cock,  wife  and 
one  child ;  Mrs.  Daniel  Lee ;  Mrs.  David  Carter  :  Mrs.  Joseph  Holnian  ;  Miss  E. 
Phillips.  Independent  Protestant  Mission— Rev.  Harvey  Clarke  and  wife ;  P.  B. 
Littlejohn  and  wife  ;  Robert  Moore,  James  Cook,  and  James  [Travers,  according  to 
Judge  Deady,]  Fletcher,  settlers.  Jesuit  Priests — P.  J.  DeSmet,  Flathead  Mission. 
Rocky  Mountain  men  witli  native  wives— William  Craig,  Doctor  Robert  Newell, 
Joseph  L.  Meek,  George  Ebbert,  William  M.  Dougherty,  John  Larison,  Geo.  Wil- 
kinson, a  Mr.  Nicholson,  and  Mr.  Algear,  and  William  Johnscm,  author  of  the 
novel,  "Leni  Leoti,  o  The  Prairie  Flower."  The  subject  was  first  written  and 
read  before  the  Lyceum  at  Oregon  City,  in  1843. 

He  classilies  the  population  as  follows:  Amei'ican  settlers, 
twenty-five  of  them  with  Indian  wives,  30;  American  women,  33; 
children,  32;  lay  members,  Protestant  Missions,  13;  Methodist  Min- 
isters, 13;  Congregational,  O;  American  Physicians,  3;  English  Phy- 
sicians,!; Jesuit  Priests,  including  DeSmet,  3;  Canadian  French, 
00.  Total  Americans,  137;  total  Canadians,  including  Priests,  63; 
total  population,  not  including  Hudson's  Bay  Company  operatives, 


AMKKICANS  ORGANIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  OOVKRNMKNT. 


233 


33; 


within  what  now  is  a  portion  of  Montana,  and  all  of  Idaho,  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon,  200. 

Up  to  1839  the  only  law  or  government  administered  in  this 
region  was  the  rules  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  hut  that  year, 
deeming  that  there  must  be  some  authority  which  the  settlers  would 
respect,  the  Methodist  missionaries  designated  two  persons  to  act  as 
magistrates.  This  was  d(me  entirely  without  the  co-operation  of 
the  settlers,  l)ut  the  action  received  their  endorsement,  or,  at  least, 
was  generally  acquiesced  in.  Several  cases  came  before  these  officers 
for  adjudication,  the  most  important  being  the  trial  of  T.  J.  Hub- 
bard for  murder,  he  having  shot  a  man  who  was  attemi)ting  to 
enter  his  cabin  throuLch  the  window.  The  maj^istrate  was  Rev. 
David  Leslie.     The  prisoner  was  acquitted  l»y  the  jury. 

Settlements  were  made  at  this  time  with  reference  to  the  possi- 
ble division  of  the  country  on  tlu'  line  of  the  Colum])ia  River,  all 
Americans  locating  south  of  the  stream,  and  none  l)Ut  British  sub- 
jects north  of  it.  Cook,  Fletcher  and  Moore  settled  on  the  ])anks 
of  the  Willamette,  near  the  falls,  the  last  named  locating  directly 
opposite*  the  cataract,  on  the  west  bank.  He  purchased  a  section 
of  land  of  the  Indians,  a  transaction  which,  of  course,  had  no  legal 
force,  and  named  his  place  "Robin's  Nest."  Dr.  McLoughlin 
claimed  the  opposite  end  of  the  falls,  and,  later,  when  he  resigned 
from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  located  there  and  became  as  good 
an  American  as  any  of  them.  Pie  thus  relates  some  of  the  diffi- 
culties he  experienced  with  this  claim: — 

In  1840,  as  I  already  stated,  the  Methodist  Mission  received  a  large  reinforce- 
ment, r  had  selected  for  a  claim,  Oregon  City,  in  1829,  made  improvements  on  it 
and  had  a  large  quantity  of  timber  squared.  Tlie  Superintendent  applied  to  me  for 
a  loan  of  some  of  it  to  build  a  mission  house.  I  lent  them  the  timber  and  had  a  place 
pointed  out  to  them  upon  which  to  build.  In  1840  the  Methodist  Mission  formed  a 
milling  association  and  jumped  part  of  my  claim  and  began  t«  build  a  saw  and 
grist  mill.  They  assumed  the  right  to  judge  of  my  rights,  and  said  that  I  could  not 
hold  it  as  part  of  my  claim,  though  the  stream  that  separates  the  islet  from  the  main 
land  is  not  more  than  forty  feet  wide  in  summer.  This  island  is  what  is  called 
"  Abernethy  Island,"  and  is  about  three  or  four  acres  in  extent.  In  1842,  Mr. 
Walker,  the  resident  missionary  in  the  house,  to  build  which  I  lent  timber,  which 
they  never  returned,  and  gave  the  ground  upon  which  to  build,  set  up  a  claim  to 
Oregon  City  in  opposition  to  me,  but  after  some  difficulty,  I  paid  them  $500 
and  he  gave  it  up.  I  preferred  to  do  this  and  have  done  with  it  rathtr  than  here- 
after trouble  Government  with  it. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  the  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 


IVM 


iriSTOKY  OK  WILLAMKTTK  VAI,1-KT. 


pany  w.'is  to  discourage  any  settlements  whatever,  preferring  that 
the  country  should  remain  uninhabited  l>y  all  save  the  Indians  and 
the  actual  servants  of  the  company.  It  had  even  gone  to  the  ex- 
pense of  sending  to  Canada  those  employees  whose  terms  of  service 
expired.  Had  they  but  themselves  and  employees  to  deal  with,  the 
policy  was  a  wise  one  foi-  the  purpose  of  effecting  the  end  aimed  at 
— the  preservation  of  the  country  in  its  primeval  state — l)ut  with 
the  complication  of  independent  American  settlers  it  wa«  the  re- 
vei'se.  Had  the  company  from  the  beginning  coloni/e<l  ()regi>n 
with  its  discharged  servants,  as  it  had  previously  done  the  Red 
River  region,  there  would  now  have  been  such  a  flourishing  colony 
as  would  liave  comjiletely  overshadowed  the  Americans,  if,  indeed, 
it  did  not  prevent  their  coming  altogether.  Failure  to  do  this  lost 
Great  Britain  her  only  hope  of  ac(iuiring  Oregon.  The  company's 
eyes  were  fully  opened  to  the  danger  when  the  Wallamet  Cattle 
Company  was  organized  in  1837.  It  resolved  then  upon  a  radical 
ami  immediate  change  of  policy — to  colonize  the  country  with  sub- 
jects of  Great  Britain  as  rapidly  as  jDOssible.  Accordingly,  the 
Puget  Sound  Agriciultural  Company  was  organized  in  1887  as  an 
associate  of  the  company,  which  it  was  to  supply  with  its  products 
as  well  as  carry  on  a  trade  with  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  Alaska. 
The  company,  for  reasons  previously  stated,  selected  a  location  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Columbia,  at  Cowlitz  and  Nesqually.  It  took 
several  years  to  carry  the  scheme  into  effect,  since  it  was  necessary 
to  bring  a  large  emigration  from  the  company's  older  colony  on 
Red  River.  The  settlement  on  French  Prairie  has  been  mentioned; 
this  consisted  of  about  twenty-five  families  at  the  time  Father  Blan- 
chet  arrived  in  1838,  and  located  there  the  Mission  of  St.  Paul, 
where  a  school  and  church  have  ever  since  been  maintained.  The 
plan  of  the  company  was  to  thus  overwhelm  the  American  settlers 
in  point  of  numbers,  and  at  the  same  time  to  open  negotiations  be- 
tween the  home  governments  for  a  final  settlement  of  the  mooted 
question  of  title,  in  which  the  great  preponderance  of  English  sub- 
jects should  be  lu'ged  as  a  reason  why  Great  Britain's  claim  to  the 
country  should  be  conceded.  To  the  defeat  of  this  deep-laid  plan 
the  United  States  is  indebted  largely  to  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman's  per- 
spicacity, determination  and  patriotism,  as  will  appear  later  on. 
The  company's  plans  embraced,  also,  a  studied  and  persistent 


AMKRICANS   ORfJANIZK   A   1»KOVISION  A  I,  r.oVKtJ.VMK  VT. 


•J.Sil 


niisrepre8<uitatioii  of  the  agrir.iiltural  resoiirceH  of  the  country.  The 
idea  was  industriously  impressed  upon  every  one  that  Oregon  was 
a  barren  waste,  of  no  earthly  vj^lue  except  as  a  fur  i-egion.  J^y  this 
means  it  was  hoped  not  only  to  discourage  emigration,  but  to  im- 
press u]K)n  American  statesmen  the  'u]vt\  that  a  country  of  sucli  little 
value  for  colonization  was  not  worth  contending  for,  and  some  of 
tlie  speeches  made  in  Congress  l)y  several  of  the  foremost  men  of 
the  nation  show  hoAV  well  the  plan  succeeded.  That  England,  and 
Englishmen  generally,  became  end)ued  with  the  same  idea  was  of 
no  consequence,  since  the  company  did  not  desire  English  settlers 
other  than  such  as,  in  a  measure,  belonged  to  it;  and  England  could 
be  relied  upon  to  do  her  best  to  secure  it  as  a  perpetual  trapping 
ground  for  this  great  corporation,  which  was  her  j)owerful  repic- 
sentative  in  the  extreme  West.  Not  onl}'  was  the  region  decried, 
but  it  was  asserted  with  great  positiveness  that  it  was  abs(dutely 
impossible  for  wagons  to  cross  the  mountains,  and  that  emigrants 
could  not  pass  overland  from  the  Mississippi  \\'illey.  Every  book 
of  English  origin  laid  great  stress  upon  these  facts,  and  tliey  were 
echoed  by  the  magazines  and  newspapers.  Said  John  Dunn,  a 
former  clerk  of  the  company,  in  his  work  on  (Oregon:  "None  but 
the  wild  and  fearless  fi'ee- trappers  can  claml)er  over  these  precipices 
and  tread  these  deserts  with  security.  It  is  true  that  there  have 
been  published  more  favorable  accounts,  within  the  last  year  or  two, 
by  parties  who  have  made  the  journey  safely,  and  who  encourage 
others  to  make  a  similar  experiment,  liut  these  accounts  are  mere 
bravado."  In  1848,  the  Edinburg  Review  said:  "However  the 
political  question  between  England  and  the  United  States,  as  to  the 
ownership  of  Oregon,  may  be  decided,  Oregon  will  never  be  coh)- 
nized  overland  from  the  United  States.  The  world  must  assume  a 
new  phase  before  the  American  wagons  will  make  plain  the  road 
to  the  Columbia,  as  they  have  done  to  the  Ohio."  These  extracts 
are  sufficient  to  show  the  general  tenor  of  them  all. 

In  this  there  was  nothing  either  criminal  or  dishonest,  nothing 
which  Americans  would  not  have  done  under  the  same  circum- 
stances; and  yet  certain  writers  speak  of  this  and  other  steps  of  the 
company  to  obtain,  or  retain,  possession  of  Oregon,  as  constituting 
a  heinous  crime.  In  looking  at  this  matter  one  should  divest  him- 
self of  all  national  and  religious  prejudice  or  bigotr}'.     Both  na- 


P 


230 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


tions  haviiijr  well-founded  claims  to  the  country,  the  subjects  of 
Great  Britain  certainly  were  as  fully  justitietl  in  making  an  effort 
for  possession  as  were  the  citizens  of  the  United  States;  and  the 
actual  fact  is  that  they  were  less  active,  less  aggressive  than  were 
the  Americans,  to  which  is  largely  due  their  defeat  in  the  contest 
upon  which  they  entered  with  every  a«lvantage.  Because  they  made 
these  efforts,  pai'ties  who  were  ecjually  active  on  the  other  side  have 
chargKl  the  cornjiany  with  grave  crimes,  not  the  lejist  of  which  was 
the  inciting  of  the  natives  to  murder  American  settlei-s  and  mission- 
aries. These  charges  rest  solely  ujion  the  most  flimsy  circumstan- 
tial evidence,  which  is  outweighed  by  the  c«)nduct  and  character  of 
the  officers  who  administered  the  company's  affaii"s  in  Oregon.  It 
is  not  the  purpose  of  the  wi'itei-  to  engage  in  a  general  tlefense  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  acquit  it  of  all  censure;  for  he  be- 
lieves its  policy  to  have  been  harsh  and  cruel,  though  natural  and 
human.  He  would,  however,  desire  to  <lefend  the  name  of  good 
Dr.  McLoughlin  from  the  aspersions  of  men  who  were  not  worthy 
to  untie  the  latchet  of  his  shoes;  who  possessed  neither  his  large  and 
liberal  mind,  nor  his  warm  and  generous  heart.  He  must  be  dis- 
associated entirely  from  the  company  ^\hose  chief  representative  he 
was,  since  he  failed  utterly  to  carry  out  its  policy.  He  was  ever  the 
sympathizing  friend  of  the  needy  pioneer,  and  lil>erally  aided  huu 
in  distress;  and  when  called  to  account,  in  184-4,  for  not  enforcing 
the  company's  orders  to  withhold  fi"om  American  settlers  all  assist- 
ance whatever,  resigned  his  position  and  became  nearly  penniless 
because  of  being  held  personally  responsil>le  for  the  debts  he  had 
permitted  many  distressed  emigrants  to  contract  for  necessary  sup- 
plies, which  debts,  it  may  be  stated,  many  never  had  the  honor  or 
gratitude  to  discharge.  Aside  from  this  order  to  >\-ithhold  assistance, 
which,  had  it  been  enforced  by  Dr.  McLoughlin,  would  have  caused 
great  distress,  and  which,  of  course,  not  being  present  to  witness  it, 
the  chief  officers  of  the  company  coidd  not  fully  appreciate,  there 
was  nothing  in  the  conduct  of  the  company  which  would  not  be 
looked  upon  in  any  country  and  by  any  people  as  proper  and  nec- 
easary  for  the  protection  of  their  interests,  could  they  «>e  placed  in  a 
similar  position.  It  is  questionable  if  the  gentlemen  entertaining 
such  bitter  feelings  had  possessed  the  great  power  of  the  company, 
whether  they  would  have  used  it  as  honorably  and  conscientiously 


AMERICANS  OROANIZK  A  PROVISIONAL  OOVKRNMKNT. 


237 


as  (li<l  Dr.  McLoughlin  and  his  associiites.  These  narrow-minded 
views  were  not  entertained  by  Dr.  Whitnnm,  the  Nestor  of  them  all. 
He  had  a  brain  sufficiently  large,  and  a  nature  suffieiently  honor- 
able, to  divorce  politics  and  personality,  and  he  honored  and  respected 
some  of  these  men,  and  enjoyed  their  wannest  friendship,  while  do- 
ing more  than  any  other  man  to  counteract  and  defeat  their  ])lans. 
The  active  paii  taken  politically  by  the  Protestant  missionaries  lost 
them  the  suj)poi-t  they  at  first  received  from  the  company,  which 
was  transferred  to  the  Catholics,  who,  as  subjects  of  (ireat  Britain, 
could  be  counted  upon  to  further  its  interests.  It  was  this  support 
of  their  religious  adversaries  which  caused  the  l)itter  enmity  of  cer- 
tain Protestant  historians  to  the  company.  The  mutual  intcderance 
of  adherents  of  the  two  creeds,  and  the  especially  bitter  spirit  eu- 
gendere<l  l)y  the  contest  for  spiritual  control  of  the  In<' ians,  suffi- 
•iently  explain  why  those  whose  minds  were  thus  wrought  uj)  to  a 
'lief  in  the  commission  of  fiendish  acts  by  their  Catholic  opponents, 
should  extend  their  prejudices  to  the  company  which  aided  in  their 
defeat. 

Dr.  McLoughlin  treats  the  sul>ject  of  his  attitude  and  conduct 
towards  American  settlers  at  great  length,  and  justice  to  him  requires 
that  his  words  be  given  in  full.     He  says: — 

In  1S43,  about  800  emigrants  arrived  from  the  Stiites.  I  saw  by  the  looks  of  the 
Indians  that  they  were  excited,  and  I  watched  them.  As  the  first  stragglers  were 
arriving  at  Vancouver  in  canoes,  I  was  standing  on  the  bank.  Nearer  the  water 
there  was  a  group  of  ten  or  twelve  Indians.  One  of  them  bawled  out  to  his  com- 
panions, "  It  is  good  for  us  to  kill  these  Bostons ! "  Struck  with  the  excitement  I 
had  seen  in  Uie  countenances  of  the  Indians  since  they  had  heard  the  report  of  the 
immigration  coming,  I  felt  certain  they  were  inclined  to  mischief,  and  that  bespoke 
thus  loud  as  a  feeler  to  sound  me,  and  take  their  measures  accordingly.  I  imme- 
fliately  rushed  on  them  with  my  cane,  calling  «)ut  at  the  same  time,  "Who  is  the 
dog  that  says  it  is  a  good  thing  to  kill  these  BosUms!"  The  fellow,  trembling, 
excused  himself,  "  I  spoke  without  meaning  harm,  but  the  Dalles  Indians  say  so." 
Well,"  said  I,  "  the  Dalles  Indians  are  dogs  for  saying  so,  and  you  also,"  and  left 
him,  a-s,  if  I  had  remained  longer,  it  would  have  had  a  bad  effect.  I  had  done 
enough  to  convince  them  I  would  not  allow  them  to  do  wrong  to  the  immigrants 
with  impunity.  From  this  Indian  saying,  in  the  way  he  did,  that  the  Dalles 
Indians  said  it  was  good  to  kill  the  Bostons,  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  do  all  I  could  to 
avert  so  horrid  a  deed. 

Mr.  P.  L.  Edwards,  whom  I  mentioned,  came  in  1834,  with  Messrs.  Lee,  and 
left  in  18.38,  sent  me  a  letter  by  Gen.  McCarver,  stating  he  had  given  a  letter  of  in- 
troduction to  me  to  r.  H.  Burnett,  Esq.  I  immediately  formed  my  plan  and  kept 
my  knowledge  of  the  horrid  design  of  the  Ij^dians  secret,  as  I  felt  certain  that  if 
Americana  knew  it,  these  men  acting  indej)endent  of  each  other,  would  be  at  once 
for  fighting,  which  would  lead  to  their  toUl  destruction,  and  I  sent  two  (2)  boats 


238 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMKTTF,  VALLEY. 


"  You  have  known  it  for  two 
name."    The  Doctor,  seeing  I 


with  provisions  to  meet  them ;  :?ent  provisions  to  Mr.  Burnett,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  provisions  for  sale  to  those  who  would  purchase,  and  to  be  given  to  those  who 
had  not  the  means,  being  confident  that  the  fright  I  had  given  (as  alread.y  stated;  the 
Indians  who  sjiid  it  was  a  good  thing  to  kill  the  Bost(>ns  was  known  at  the  Dalles 
before  our  boats  were  there,  and  that  witli  the  presence  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany people,  and  the  assistance  they  aflForded  the  immigrants,  would  deter  the 
Indians  from  doing  them  any  wrong,  and  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say  I  entirely 
succeeded.  At  first  I  thought  these  Indians  were  excited  by  some  of  the  Iroquois 
Indians  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  service,  and  tried  to  find  if  so,  l)ut  found 
nothing  to  enlighten  me  on  the  subject. 

Alxnit  a  month  after  Dr.  Whitman,  from  his  mission  Walla  Walla  to  Vancou- 
ver, as  the  Dalles  was  on  liis  way,  and  as  he  had  seen  the  princifil  men  there,  it 
occurred  to  mc  that  he  might  have  heard  of  it,  and  told  him  what  I  heard  the 
Indian  say,  antl  how  I  had  alarmed  him,  what  I  had  done  to  deter  them  and  my 
suspicion  that  all  this  .^i)rung  from  .some  of  our  ra.scally  Iroquois,  and  tliat  I  was 
anxious  to  find  thai  ra.scal  oui  to  punish  liim  as  an  example  to  deter  otiiers.  "  Oh," 
says  the  Doctor,  "  I  know  all  about  it."  "  You  do.  Doctor,"  says  I.  "  Yes,"  said 
the  Doctor,  "and  I  liave  known  it  for  two  years." 
years  anil  you  told  me  no^hint^!  Pray  tell  me  his 
wtxs  on  the  wrong  scent,  said,  "His  name  is  Thonuis  Hill."  After  thinking  for 
Bome  time,  I  replied,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Comininj'  had  no  man  of  that  name  in  their 
service.  "Oh,"  says  the  Doctor,  "  Tom  Hill  the  Sliawnce."  Tliis  Indian,  it  is  said, 
had  been  e<lucated  at  Dartmoutii  College  in  the  States,  had  told  the  Indians  that  a 
few  Americans  had  come  to  settle  on  their  land  ;  tiiat  the  Shawnees  allowcil  them, 
but  when  the  Americans  were  strong  enough  they  drove  the  Shawnees  ofl'and  now 
the  Shawnees  hi've  no  lands,  and  had  urged  the  Indians  to  allow  no  Americans  to 
settle  on  their  lands,  which  advice  the  In<lians  al)out  Walla  Walla  say  *he  ("ayuses 
are  following  ,  ^  this  day,  and  the  Indian-  are  inclined  to  follow  by  killing  the  innni- 
grants  ".vho  fir-t  came,  and  which  I  lielieve  they  would  have  done  but  for  the  decideti 
and  cautious  manner  that  I  acte<l.  And  the  reason  the  Indian  made  use  of  the  ex- 
pression he  did,  was  because  I  punishei^I  the  murderers  of  the  Smith  party,  ami  be- 
fore acting  they  wanted  to  know  how  T  would  treat  ihcm,  and  most  certainly  if  I 
had  not  l)een  n>ost  anxious  for  the  .-afoty  of  the  immigrants  and  to  discharge  to 
them  the  duties  of  a  Christian,  my  ear  v.'ould  not  have  caught  so  (juickly  the  w  )rds, 
"  ii  is  a  good  thing  to  kill  these  Bostops,"  and  acted  jus  I  did.  In  fact,  if  the  immi- 
grants had  all  been  my  brothcw  and  sistei-s,  I  could  not  have  done  mure  for  them. 
T  fed  the  hungry,  causwl  tlie  sick  t<i  be  attended  to  and  nursed,  furnished  thcni 
every  assistiinc:  so  long  as  they  re  |(iire<l  it,  and  which  some  have  not  paid  to  this 
day,  though  abundantly  able,  and  for  which,  if  they  do  not  pay,  I  am  answerable 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  ("o;!Mp:iny.  I*  may  be  said,  and  has  been  said,  that  I  was  too 
liberal  in  I'laking  th'jse  advances.  It  is  not  so,  but  was  done  judiciously  and 
I)rudently. 

When  tiie  immigration  of  184li  came,  wc  had  enough  of  bread.stull's  in  the  ('ountry 
for  one  year,  liut  as  the  inimigrants  rep<>rted  that  next  season  there  would  be  a 
greater  immigration,  it  wa.s  evident  if  there  wtw  not  a  pro|>ortionate  increiuse  of  setnl 
sown  in  1843  and  1844,  tiiere  would  be  a  famine  in  the  country  in  1H4.5,  which  would 
lea<l  to  trouble,  as  .'■ise  that  had  fanulies,  to  save  them  from  starvation,  would  be 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  violence  to  get  food  for  them.  To  avert  this  I  freely  sup- 
plied the  inmilgrant.s  of  1843  and  1844  with  the  neces,sary  articles  to  ojun  farms,  and 
by  these  means  avoided  the  evils.  In  short  I  afforded  every  as^iistiince  to  the  immi- 
grants so  long  as  they  required  it,  and  i)y  management  I  kept  iM'ace  in  the  country, 
and  in  some  cases  bad  lo  ]iut  up  with  a  great  deal ;  for  instance,  when  the  milling 
com|>any  juiuimhI  part  of  uiy  claim,  the  island  uiHin  which  they  built  a  mill,  and 


AMEKICAXS  ORGAXIZK  A   VKOVISIONAL  (JOVKKNMENT. 


239 


whicii  subsetjuently  Abernethy  purchased,  and  when  Williamson  jumiied  part  of 
Fort  Vancouver,  as  may  be  seen  by  my  corretipondence  with  the  i)rovisi()nal  govern- 
nicnt  on  the  subject,  and  which  occuired  in  the  presence  of  several  American 
citizens,  who  I  am  hnpi)y  to  say  stronj^ly  expressed  their  disapprobation  of  William- 
son's conduct,  and  whieli  I  am  induced  to  believe  made  him  desist,  an<l  it  will  be 

seen,  to  their  credit,  'hut  Messrs ,  the 

Executive  Conunittee,  acted  in  a  straightforward,  manly  and  correct  manner,  and 
it  was  by  such  conduct  on  the  part  of  respectable  American  citizens,  that  peace  and 
order  were  maintained  in  the  country.  It  is  true,  several  thought  I  was  too  for- 
bearing ;  but  when  I  saw  how  nuich  the  good  on  both  siiles  would  suffer  if  I  acted 
differently,  and  that  a  war  l)etween  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  might  be 
caused  liy  it,  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  act  as  I  did,  and  by  which  I  thinlt  I  nuiy 
have  prevented  a  war  l)etween  the  United  States  and  (treat  Britain.  And  how 
have  .  been  treated  by  both? 

By  IJritish  demagogues  1  have  l)een  represented  as  a  traitor.  For  what?  Because 
I  actf'd  as  a  Cliristian;  saved  Americiui  citizens,  men,  women  and  children  from 
the  Indian  touuduiwk,  and  enabled  them  to  make  farms  to  support  their  families. 
Ani'Tican  dcniagosrues  have  been  base  enough  to  a.ssert  that  I  had  caused  American 
''itizens  to  be  massacred  by  hundreds  by  the  savages.  I,  who  saved  all  I  could. 
I  have  l)een  represented  by  tlie  delegate  from  Oregon,  the  late  S.  R.  Thurston,  as 
doing  all  I  could  to  prevent  tlie  settling,  while  it  was  well  known  to  every  Ameri- 
can settler  who  is  acciuaiiited  with  tl)e  history  of  the  Territory,  that  this  is  a  down- 
right falsehood,  and  most,  certainly  will  say,  that  they  most  firndy  believe  that  I 
did  all  I  could  to  prom  te  its  .settlement,  and  tluit  I  could  not  have  done  more  for 
the  settlers  if  they  liad  ictii  my  brothers  and  sisters,  and  after  being  the  first  person 
to  take  a  claim  in  the  country  and  assisting  the  immigrants  as  I  have,  my  claim  is 
reserved,  after  having  ex])ended  all  the  means  I  had  to  inijjrove  it,  while  every  other 
settler  in  the  country  gets  his.  But  as  I  felt  convinced  that  any  disturbance 
between  us  here  might  lead  to  a  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  States,  I  felt  it 
my  l)ounden  duty  as  a  Christian,  to  act  as  I  did,  and  which  T  think  averted  the 
evil,  and  which  was  so  displeasing  to  some  English  demagogues  that  they  repre- 
'  "nted  me  to  the  British  Ctovernment  as  a  peraon  so  partial  to  American  interests  as 
selling  the  Hudson's  Bay  ("otnpany  goods  in  my  charge  cheaper  to  American  than 
I  did  to  British  sul)jects.  On  the  other  liand,  though,  if  the  American  innnigrants 
ha<l  been  my  brothers  and  sisters,  I  could  not  have  done  more  for  them;  yet,  after 
acting  tvs  I  have,  spending  my  means  and  doing  my  utmost  to  settle  tlie  country, 
niy  claim  is  resirved,  while  every  other  settler  in  the  country  gets  liis;  and  how 
nuicli  this  has  injured  me,  is  daily  injuring  me,  it  is  neeille.ss  to  say,  and  certainly 
it  is  a  treatment  I  do  not  deserve  and  whic^h  I  did  n«)t  expect.  To  be  brief,  bounded 
this  settlement  anil  preventeil  a  war  between  tlie  United  States  and  Gre-t  Britain, 
and  for  doing  this  peaceably  and  ((uietly,  I  wtus  treated  by  the  Britis'.  in  such  a 
manner  that  froiii  self  respect  T  resigned  my  situation  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's service,  by  which  I  sacrificed  Jil2,(KK)  per  annum,  and  the  "Oregon  Lund 
Bill  "  shows  tlie  treatment  I  received  from  the  Americans. 

It  18  a  [ilcasure  to  .state  tliat  all  libt'i'al-iuindeil  pioneers  regard 
the  good  Doctor  as  one  of  the  grande.st  and  most  nolde  characters 
with  whom  they  ever  <'nmt^  [n  "ontact. 

The  [lojvilation  of  Oregon  may  be  dassitied,  in  1840,  into  four 
tlistiiu-t  divisions- -the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  the  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries and  their  French  proteges;  the   Protestant  misHiouaries ; 


240 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


and  the  independent  settlers.  The  fii'st  two  generally  acted  together, 
thouirh  there  were  a  few  members  of  the  Catholic  church  who  favored 
American  rule.  Though  not  always  in  full  accord,  and  occa.sionally 
op[X)sing  each  other,  the  settlers  and  missionaries,  as  a  rule,  act<'d 
together,  the  missions  serving  as  a  rallying  point  for  the  settlei*s. 
These  latter  cared  nothing  for  the  religious  creed  the  missionaries 
represented,  their  sole  object  in  securing  homes  in  the  Willamette 
Valley  being  to  better  their  wordly  condition,  yet  they  favored  the 
mission  to  the  extent  that  it  served  their  purpose  of  settling  in  the 
country.  The  missions  of  the  American  Board  located  east  of  the 
m«>untains,  cut  no  iigure  at  first  in  the  oi'ijanization  of  a  government, 
thiit  mt>vement  being  confined  to  the  settlers  in  the  Willamette  Val- 
ley. The  motives  which  actuated  them  are  thus  set  forth  by  J. 
Quinu  Thornton: — 

Distant  from  the  land  of  their  birth,  surrounded  by  restless  tribes  of  Indiant*, 
who  clamorously  and  insolently  demanded  of  the  immigrants  pay  for  lands  whii'h 
the  immigrants  had  neither  the  means  nor  the  right  to  purchase;  still  ardently  de- 
siring to  have  their  names  and  their  destiny  connected  with  that  of  the  republic, 
and  yet,  often  pierced  to  the  heart  by  the  thought,  which  would  sometimes,  unbid- 
den, obtrude  itself  ujwn  the  mind,  that  they  were  the  victims  of  their  country's 
neglect  and  injustice,  and  suffering  all  the  inconveniences  and  embarrassnunts 
w  hich  are  necessarily  felt  by  a  residentand  civilized  community,  without  a  system  of 
laws  for  the  conservation  of  peace  and  order,  they  were  at  length  comijelled  to  or- 
ganize a  provisional  government. 

Their  first  step  was  taken  March  16,  1888,  when  J.  L.  Whit- 
comb  and  thirty-five  other  settlers  prepared  a  memorial,  which  was 
presentetl  to  Congress  January  28,  18.S9,  by  Senator  Linn.  This 
document  set  forth  the  resources  and  condition  of  the  country,  and 
contained  the  following  paragraph: — 

We  are  anxious  when  we  inuigine  what  will  be,  what  must  be,  the  condition  of 
8o  mixed  a  community,  free  from  all  legal  restraint  and  superior  to  that  moral  influ- 
ence wliich  has  hitherto  been  the  pledge  of  our  safety.  We  flatter  ourselves  f/iat 
u-e  art  the  germ  of  a  great  State  and  are  anxious  to  give  an  early  tone  t«)  the  moral 
and  intellectual  character  of  our  citizens— the  destinies  of  our  jMisterity  will  be 
intimately  affected  by  the  character  of  those  who  immigrate.  The  territory  nuist 
populate — the  Congress  of  the  United  Htatcs  umst  say  by  whom.  The  natural 
resources  of  the  country,  with  a  well-judged  civil  code,  will  invitea  good  community 
but  a  goofi  community  will  hardly  emigrate  to  a  country  which  promises  no  pro- 
tection to  life  or  property.  *  *  *  We  can  boast  of  no  civil  ccMle.  We 
can  promise  no  i)rofection  but  the  ulterior  resort  of  self-defense.  •  •  *  We 
have  thus  briefly  shown  that  the  security  of  our  jjersons  and  our  property,  the 
hopes  and  destinies  of  our  children,  are  involved  in  the  subject  of  our  iH'tilion.  We 
do  not  presume  to  suggest  the  manner  in  which  the  country  should  be  <K'cupied  by 
the  Ooverunieut,  nor  the  extent  to  which  our  settlement  should  be  encouraged. 


AMEBICAIfS  ORGANIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  OOVKKNMEXT. 


241 


Vhit- 

This 
,  and 


ition  of 
il  inttu- 
•I's  that 
e  iiiiiriil 
will  III' 
ry  imiHt 
naturul 
niunity 
no  pro- 
lie.    We 
We 
rty.  tlu' 
m.    We 
ipietl  i>y 
ou raged. 


We  confide  in  the  wisdom  of  our  national  legislators,  and  leave  the  subject  to  their 
candid  deliberations. 

This  petition  was  read,  laid  on  the  table,  and  neglected.  In 
June,  1840,  Senator  Linn  again  presented  a  menumal,  signed  by 
seventy  citizens  of  Oregon  : — 

Your  petitioners  represent  that  they  are  residents  in  Oregon  Territory,  and  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  or  persons  desirous  of  becoming  such.  They  furthei  rep- 
resent that  they  have  settled  themselves  in  said  Territory,  under  the  belief  that  it 
was  a  portion  of  the  public  domain  of  the  United  States,  and  that  they  might  rely 
upon  the  government  thereof  for  the  blessings  of  free  institutions  and  the  protec- 
tion of  its  arms.  But  your  petitioners  further  represent,  that  they  are^minformed 
of  any  acts  of  said  Government  by  which  its  Institutions  and  protection  are  ex- 
tended to  them;  in  consequence  whereof,  them-selves  and  families  are  exposed  to  be 
destroyed  by  the  savages  and  others  that  would  do  them.  harm.  And  your  petition- 
ers would  further  represent  that  they  have  no  means  of  protecting  their  own  and 
the  lives  of  their  families,  other  than  self-constituted  tribunals,  organized  and  sus- 
tained by  the  power  of  an  ill-instructed  public  opinion,  and  the  resort  to  force  and 
arms.  And  your  petitioners  represent  these  means  of  safety  to  be  an  insufficient 
safeguard  of  life  and  property.  *  *  *  *  Your  petitioners  wherefore 
pray  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America,  to  establish,  as  soon  as  may  be, 
a  territorial  government  in  Oregon  Territory. 

The  phrase  which  is  italicized  in  the  above  memorial  nndoiibt- 
edly  refei's  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which,  so  ■  .le  of  the 
settlers  then  believed  and  a  few  still  affect  to  believe,  desi:.  d  their 
destruction.  The  absurdity  of  this  has  already  been  pointed  out  l)y 
calling  attention  to  the  character  of  the  company's  officers  in  Ort- 
gon,  and  to  the  very  patent  fact  that  had  such  been  their  intention 
it  would  have  been  carried  out,  since  nothing  could  have  been  easier 
of  acconiplishnient.  That  the  company  succeeded  in  "freezing  out " 
opposition  traders,  })y  exerting  its  authority  to  prevent  the  Indians 
form  trading  with  its  rivals,  and  by  refusing  to  sell  such  men  sup- 
plies when  in  business  distre.s8,  is  an  undisputed  fact;  and  that 
it  s(»ught  to  "starve  out"  all  American  settlers,  or,  at  least,  keep 
them  in  practical  subjection,  is  equally  undisputable,  and  would 
probably  have  been  as  fully  successful  had  am>tlier  than  Dr.  Mc- 
lioughlin  been  in  charge  at  Vancouver;  but  that  it  sought  to  achieve 
these  ends  by  murder  and  inciting  the  Indians  to  slaughter  them, 
lacks  proof  of  any  kind.  Its  domination  over  the  Indians  was  so 
complete  that  a  simple  hint  that  the  company  desired  the  Americans 
killed  would  have  been  sufficient  to  have  accomplished  that  end. 
The  simple  fact  that  these  petiti<)uei's  lived  for  uumy  years  expo.sed 


242 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


to  attack  ami  never  oiice  received  it,  is  evidence  enough  to  show 
that  the  fears  expressed  in  the  memorial  were  ungrounded. 

Having  thus  jji-ovided  for  making  knowTJ  the  situation  of  affairs 
to  Congress,  and  being  well  aware  that  one,  and  }»ossibly  two,  yt'ars 
must  roll  around  before  they  could  even  know  that  their  petition 
liad  been  pi-esented,  they  adch'essed  themsehes  to  the  task  of  pro- 
viding such  government  as  was  absolutely  recpiired  for  the  security 
of  their  families  and  the   proper  conservation  of  the  peace.     The 
principal   setth-nient  wa>  at  Champoeg,  and  thei'e  a  meeting  wa.s 
held  on  the  seventh  of  Februavy,  1H41,  the  record  of  which  shows 
that  it  was  "a  meeting  of  some  of  the  inhabitants      *      *      *     for 
the  purpose  of  consulting  upon  steps  necessary  to  be  taken  for  the 
formation  of  laws,  and  tlie  election  of  officers  to  execute  them."  Rev. 
Ja.son  Lee  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  reipiested  to   express  his 
opinion  of  what  was  necessary  to  be  done.     In  a  brief  speech,  which 
indicates  that  he  had  given  considerable  thought  to  the  subject,  he 
a(.l  vised  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  (h'aft  a  ccmstitution  and 
by-laws  for  the  government  of  that  portion  of  the  territory  l\iug 
s(»uth  (,)f  the  Columl)ia.     The  people  were  also  recommended  to  con- 
sidered the  (juestion  of  a  governor  and   other  officers.     Here  the 
matter  rested  temporai'ily ;  but  an  (went  happened  a  few  days  later 
which  revived  it  with  irreater  vigor.     This  was  the  death  of  that 
able  and  energetic  lea(h'r,   Ewing  Young,  on  the  fifteenth  of  Feb- 
ruary.    His  funeral,  which  was  held  two  days  later,  was  attended 
by  nearl}'  every  setth^r  in  the  valley.     Mr.  Young  [wssessed  c(m- 
siderablc  property,  and  left  no  visil)le  heirs  to  claim  it  and  no  one 
to  administer  upon  the  estate.     Had  he  l)e('ii  a  servant,  or  even  an 
employee  of  the  company,  the  officers  would  have  taken  charge  of 
the  effects;  or  had  he  been  lussociated  with  one  of  the  missions,  there 
would  have  been  no  doubt  about  the  disposition  of  his  property;  but 
he  was  simply  an  independent  settler,  and  no  one  had  any  color  of 
authority  to  act  in  the  premises.     After  the  funeral  ceremonies  were 
c(mcluded,  the  people  organized  a  "meeting  of  some  of  the  inhabit- 
ant** of  the  Wallamet  Valley,  foi-  consultation  concerning  tin   steps 
necessary  to  be  taken  for  the  formation  of  laws,  and  the  election  of 
officers  to  execute  the  same,  and  for  the  better  preservation  of  peace 
and  good  ordei'."     Uev.  Jason  Lee  was  chosen  Chairman,  and  Rev. 
Gustavus  nines  Secretary.   It  waa  determined  to  institute  a  civil  gov- 


AMERICANS  ORGANIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 


243 


olor  of 

lial»it- 

tion  of 
f  pence 
»1   Rev. 


eniment  south  of  the  Columbia,  to  the  protection  of  which  any  per- 
son living  north  of  that  stream  and  not  connected  with  the  company, 
might  be  admitted  upon  aj^plication.  The  form  of  government 
decided  upon  was  a  legislative  connnittee,  a  govei'nor,  a  supreme 
judge  with  probate  powers,  three  justices  of  the  peace,  three  con- 
stables, three  road  commissioners,  an  attorney-general,  a  clerk  of  the 
courts  and  j)id)lic  recorder,  a  treasurei',  and  two  overseers  of  the 
poor.  Names  of  gentlemen  to  occujn'  the  various  offices  were  sug- 
gested, and  then  the  meeting  adjourned  to  assemble  the  next  day  at 
the  Methodist  Mission,  and  elect  officers.  Nearly  all  the  male  pop- 
ulation south  of  the  Colund)ia  assembled  at  the  time  and  place 
specified.  There  were  three  distinct  factions — the  Methodist  mis- 
sionaries and  their  associates,  the  independent  settlers,  and  the 
Catholics  as  allies  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  first  busi- 
ness was  the  choice  of  a  committee  to  draft  a  constitution  and  code 
of  laws,  the  fullowinu"  gentlemen  beini;  selected:  Rev.  F.  N.  Blan- 
chet,  I'epresenting  the  Catholics;  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  Rev.  Gustavus 
Hines  and  Rev.  Josiali  L.  Parrish,  representing  the  Methodist  Mis- 
sion; D.  Donpierre  and  ^l.  Charlevo,  representing  the  French  Can- 
adian settlers;  Robert  Moore  and  Etinne  Lucier,  representing  the 
Atn.'rican  settlers;  "William  Johnson,  representing  the  purely  English 
ehuiient.  The  main  point  at  issue  between  the  factions  seemed  to 
be  the  position  of  governor;  Revs.  Leslie  an<l  Ilines  and  Dr.  J.  L. 
Bal)coclf  were  the  mission  candidates,  and  seemed  liable  to  divide 
the  vote  sufficiently  to  ensure  the  election  of  Di'.  Bailey,  a  man  of 
strong  English  prejudices,  who  wtis  opposed  to  i'<!ligion  generally. 
He  could  secure  the  French  Catholics  and  a  majority  of  the  settlers' 
votes.  l>ut  the  latter  element  he  alienatetl  l»y  his  extreme  immodesty 
in  nominating  himself.  It  was  finally  deci<led  to  dispense  with  a 
governor,  the  duties  of  that  office  ])eing  discharged  by  the  su})reme 
judge,  to  which  pctsition  Dr.  J.  L.  Bal)cock  was  elected.  IL;  was 
instructed  to  render  decisions  in  cases  which  might  come  before  him, 
in  accordance  with  the  New  York  code;  but  as  there  wjis  not  a  New 
York  statute  book  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  it  would  have  been 
<Hfficult  to  determine  whether  he  c(»m])lied  or  not.  The  committee 
l»eing  divided  between  the  different  interests,  and  the  bench  having 
fallen  to  the  Methodists,  the  Catholics  were  given  the  recorder  in 
the  pei'son  of  George  W.  LeBretou,  who  had  come  out  in  the  brig 


244 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Maryland^  and  was  a  young  niau  of  good  education.  Later,  he 
affiliated  entirely  with  the  settlers,  and  is  spoken  of  by  the  priests 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  will  be  subseijuently  noted,  as  being , 
an  apostate.  The  English  element  was  represented  by  William 
Johnson,  as  high  sheriff.  Joseph  Gervais,  Hadier  Laderaut  (Zania 
Ladaroot),  Pierre  Billique  and  William  McCarty  were  chosen  con- 
stables. The  other  offices  designated  were  not  filled;  to  have  done 
so  would  ha\'e  re(piireil  nearly  ever}'  prominent  man  in  the  settle- 
ments. The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  assemble  on  the  first  Tues- 
day in  June,  at  the  new  building  near  the  Catholic  church.  Dr. 
Babcock  administered  upon  the  estate  of  Mr.  Young,  and  aa  no 
heirn  appeared  to  claim  it,  the  property  was  devoted  to  the  build- 
ing, two  years  later,  of  a  jail  at  Oregon  City,  the  first  of  its  kind 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  score  of  years  later  the  Oregon 
Legislature  refunded  the  value  of  the  estate  to  Joaquin  Young,  of 
New  Mexico,  who  proved  himself  to  be  a  sou  of  the  deceased 
pioneer. 

LTpon  the  day  appointed  in  June  the  people  again  assembled, 
and  learned  that  the  committee  had  not  framed  a  constitution,  nor 
had  they  even  met  for  that  purpose.  Rev.  F.  N.  Blanchet  resigned, 
and  after  choosing  Dr.  Bailey  to  fill  the  vacancy,  the  meeting  in- 
structed the  committee  to  "confer  with  the  Commodt)re  of  the 
American  squatlron  and  John  McLoughlin,  Chief  Factor  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  with  regard  to  forming  a  constitution  and 
code  of  laws  for  this  conmmnity."  The  meeting  then  adjourned 
till  the  following  October.  The  naval  officer  alluded  to  was  Com- 
modore Charles  Wilkes,  who  had  been  despatched  by  the  United 
States  Government,  in  1838,  with  a  fleet  of  vessels,  on  an  extended 
voyage  of  exploration,  continuing  five  years.  Wilkes  was  then  in 
Oregon  with  the  double  purpose  of  obtaining  geographical  and  sci- 
entific information  and  learning  the  exact  situation  of  affairs.  Per- 
sonally, he  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  McLoughlin  during  his 
brief  stay,  several  expeditions  being  sent  out  fi'om  Vancouver,  one 
going  to  Puget  Sound,  one  to  the  missions  east  of  the  mountains, 
and  a  third,  under  Lieutenant  Emmons,  passing  up  the  Willamette 
Valley  and  going  overland  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  whither 
the  squadron  proceeded  by  sea.  Having  visited  the  various  mis- 
sions, talked  with  tJie  settlers,  and  consulted  with  the  worthy  Chief 


AMKRIOANK  OROANIZK  A   PROVISIONAL  UOVKRNMKNT, 


245 


Factor,  he  learned  that  only  a  minority  were  in  favor  of  a  govern- 
ment, chiefly  those  associated  with  the  Methodist  Mission.  It 
•seemed  to  be  the  prevailing  opinion  that  the  settlement  was  not 
strong  enough  to  sustain  a  government  and  not  large  enough  to 
absolutely  require  it.  Accordingly,  Wilkes  advised  the  com- 
mittee which  waited  upon  him,  to  wait  until  they  were  stronger 
before  attempting  a  government,  until  the  "Government  of  the 
United  States  should  throw  its  mantle  over  them."  This  advice  was 
accepted,  and  the  adjourned  meeting  never  convened.  This  ended 
the  first  effort  to  organize  a  local  government. 

The  first  regular  emigration  from  the  East  arrived  in  1841,  be- 
ginning that  steady  stream  of  young  and  vigorous  life  which  has 
annually  flowed  into  Oregon  for  over  forty  years ;  and  the  end  will 
not  be  seen  for  many  years  to  come.  There  were  deep  and  moving 
causes  for  this  living  sti'eam  to  force  its  way  through  the  rocky  bar- 
riers and  alkali  deserts  and  cut  a  deep  channel  to  Oregon.  Trap- 
pers who  had  visited  the  Pacific  Coast  sang  the  praises  of  the  lovely 
and  fertile  valleys  of  the  Willamette  and  Sacramento,  where  winter 
was  unknown  and  the  grass  remained  green  the  year  round.  The 
western  frontiersmen  caught  up  the  refrain  as  it  passed  from  cabin 
to  cabin ;  and  in  a  few  years  the  tale  was  an  old  one  with  the  hardy 
pioneers  of  the  West.  The  publication  of  Dr.  Parker's  book,  Irv- 
ing's  "Astoria  "  and  "  Bonneville,"  John  Dunn's  work  on  Oregon, 
a  letter  written  by  Robert  Shortess,  who  had  come  out  in  1839, 
combined  with  a  general  financial  depression  in  the  Western  States, 
caused  much  attention  to  l)e  directed  towards  Oregon,  California 
then  being  a  province  of  Mexico  and,  ccjnswiueutly,  less  attractive 
to  American  citizens.  The  two  steadfast  friends  of  Oregon  in  Congress 
were  the  senators  from  Missouri,  Thomas  H.  Benton  and  Lewis  F. 
Linn,  whose  names  are  borne  l)y  two  of  the  oldest  and  liest  -"ounties 
in  the  Willamette  Valley.  They  never  ce{ise<i  to  urge  upon  the 
Government  the  ne(;essity  of  taking  some  decisive  step  to  perfect 
its  title  to  the  region  of  the  Columbia,  and  to  extend  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  law  over  this  disputed  country  for  the  protection  of 
American  citizens  who  were  making,  and  might  in  the  future  make, 
their  homes  in  the  far-off  Occident.  It  was  Senator  Linn  who  pre- 
sented the  two  memorials  before  alluded  to,  and  who,  at  the  same 
time,  introduced  bills  for  the  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 


246 


HISTORY  OF   VVILLAMKTTE  VALLEY. 


United  States  laAYs  over  Oivgeui,  writing  tli«nu  warmly  ujion  the 
consideration  of  Congress.  Eai-ly  in  1842  he  intvodticed  a  bill 
granting  donations  of  the  pultlic  lands  to  all  wlio  might  settle  in 
Oregon,  his  idea  being  that  a  libenil  emigration  alone  eoiild  l)e  re- 
lied upon  to  win  the  Columlna  for  tlie  United  States,  and  that 
special  inducements  should  be  oifered  to  those  brave  and  hardy 
people  who  must  be  relied  upon  to  thus  eonstihite  tlie  line  of  battle 
on  the  frontier.  With  all  earnestness  he  supported  this  measure  in 
the  Senate,  ably  seconded  l)y  his  eminent  coHeague,  bu<^  his  sudden 
death  on  the  od  of  October,  l<S4;i,  suspended,  for  the  time,  the  vi- 
tality of  these  measures;  yet,  in  the  donation  laAVs  passeil  by  Con- 
gress a  few  years  latei',  the  pioneers  of  Oregon  rt'aped  the  benefit 
of  his  unselfish  exertions,  and  received  the  fultillment  of  that  im- 
plied promise  which  had  induced  many  of  them  to  undertake  the 
toilsome  and  dangerous  journey.  In  his  eulogy  ii])on  his  distin- 
guished colleague,  delivered  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  lientoii  said:  "In 
the  character  of  sucli  a  man,  so  exuberant  in  all  that  is  grand  and 
l)eautiful  in  human  nature,  it  is  dithcult  to  partieularize  excellen- 
cies, or  pick  out  any  one  (piality  or  circumstance  which  could  claim 
pre-eminence  over  all  others.  If  I  should  attem[)t  it,  I  should  point 
among  his  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  Union,  to  the  Or- 
egon bills." 

The  emigration  of  1841  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  eleven 
persons,  who,  owing  to  the  supposed  impossibility  of  crossing  the 
country  with  wagons,  made  no  attemj^t  to  l)i'ing  vehicles  w  ith  them. 
That  such  was  not  an  impossibility  liad  l)een  (k^monstrated  in  two 
instances — when  Dr.  Whitman  took  his  cart  to  Fort  Boise  in  183(), 
and  again  in  1840  l>y  Dr.  Robert  Newell,  an  old  mountaineei",  who 
took  a  prominent  and  lu)noral)le  part  in  the  early  affairs  of  Oi"egon. 
He  was  one  of  the  ari'ivals  of  1840  previously  noted.  Newell  had 
served  as  guide  to  the  Methodist  missionaries  from  (xreen  River  to 
Fort  Hall,  where,  as  compensation  for  his  services,  he  received  the 
two  watrons  beloncjino;  to  the  missionaries,  which  the\'  had  decided 
to  abandon  at  that  point.  The  wagon  party  consisted  of  Dr.  Rob- 
ert Newell  and  family,  Joseph  L.  Meek,  Caleb  AVilkins  and  Francis 
Ermatinger,  a  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  inci- 
dent is  thus  related  by  Dr.  Newell: — 

At  the  time  I  took  the  wagons,  I  hud  no  idea  of  undertaking  to  bring  them  into 


AMKinCANS  OKOANIZK  A    PROVISION  A  I.  fiOVKRNMKNT. 


•24] 


this  country.  I  cxi^lmniird  fat  liorses  to  these  missioimritw  for  their  animals,  and 
after  they  had  lu-eii  jfone  a  niontli  or  more  for  WalUmiet,  and  the  American  Fur 
Comi)any  liad  ahaiidomd  tlie  country  for  good,  I  concluded  to  liitch  up  and  try  the 
nnuih-dre  uled  jol)  of  bringing  a  wagon  to  Oregon.  I  sold  one  of  these  wagons  to 
Mr.  KrniatingtT,  at  Kort  Hall.  Mr.  C'aleh  Wilkins  had  a  small  wagon  whicli  Joel 
Walker  hail  left  at  Kort  Hall.  On  the  Hfth  of  August,  1840,  we  put  out  with  three 
wagouH.  .Joseph  L.  Meek  drove  my  wagon.  In  a  few  days  we  began  to  realize  the 
difficult  task  before  us,  and  found  that  the  continual  crashing  of  the  .sage  under  our 
wagons,  which  was  in  many  places  higher  than  the  mule's  backs,  was  no  joke. 
.Seeing  our  animals  begin  to  fail,  we  began  to  light  up,  linally  tlirew  away  our 
wagon-beds  and  were  (juiti' sorry  we  had  undertaken  the  job.  All  the  consolation 
we  had  was  that  we  broke  the  lirst  .sage  on  that  road,  and  were  too  proud  to  eat 
anything  but  dried  salmon  skins  after  our  provisions  had  become  exhausted.  In  a 
rather  rough  and  reduced  slate  we  arrived  at  Dr.  Whitman's  mission  station  in  the 
Walla  Walla  Valley,  where  we  were  met  by  that  hosj)itable  man  and  kindly  made 
welcome  and  feasted  accordingly.  On  hearing  me  regret  that  I  had  undertaken  to 
bring  wagons,  the  Doctor  said,  "Oh,  you  will  never  regret  it.  You  have  broken  the 
ice,  and  when  others  see  that  wagons  have  passed,  they  too  will  pass,  and  in  a  few 
years  the  valley  will  be  full  ol  our  people."  The  Doctor  shook  ine  heartily  by  the 
hand ;  Mrs.  Whitman,  too,  welcomed  us,  and  the  Indians  walked  around  our 
wagons,  or  what  they  called  "horse  canoes,"  and  seemed  to  give  it  up.  We  spent  a 
day  or  so  with  tlic  Doctor,  and  then  went  to  Kort  Walla  Walla,  where  we  were 
kindly  received  by  Mr.  1'.  C.  Pambrun,  Cliief  Trader  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, Sui)erintendent  of  that  post.  On  the  rtrst  of  October,  we  took  leave  of  those 
kind  people,  iKirimj  our  wuyonn  and  taking  the  river  trail— but  we  i)roceeded 
slowly.  Our  party  consisted  of  .Josei)h  Ij.  Meek  and  myself,  also  our  families,  and 
a  Hnake  Indian  whom  1  brought  to  Oregon,  where  he  died  a  year  after  our  arrival. 
The  party  did  not  arrive  at  the  Wallamet  Falls  till  December,  subsisting  for  weeks 
upon  dried  salmon,  and  upon  several  occasions  comjielled  to  swim  their  stock  across 
the  Columbia  and  Wallamet. 

The  eiuigraiits  from  the  Red  River  colonies  which  were  brought 
to  Oregon  in  pursuance  of  the  phm  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
set  forth  above,  arrived  in  the  fall  of  1S41.  Sir  (xeorge  Simpson, 
goveriH>r  of  the  comj)an>',  visited  Vancouver  the  same  year,  crossing 
overliind  from  Moiitival.  Just  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  he 
passed  tliis  train  of  emigrants,  whicli  he  records  as  consisting  of 
"  twenty-thi-ee  families,  tiie  heads  being  generally  young  and  active.'' 
They  reached  Oregon  in  S('ptenil)er  an<l  were  located  north  of  the 
Columbia,  in  the  vicinit\-  of  the  C'owlitz  farm  of  the  Pueet  Sound 
Agricultural  Company.  A  number  of  tliem  relocated  the  next  year 
in  the  Willamette  Valley. 

The  emigration  of  184'J  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  nine 
people,  iifty-tive  of  them  over  eighteen  years  of  age.  Tiiey  started 
from  Independence  on  the  sixteenth  of  May,  with  sixteen  wagons 
and  a  numlter  of  cattle.  In  the  train  was  Dr.  Elijah  White,  who 
had  spent  three  years  in  Oregon  in  connection  with  the  Methodist 


248 


msTOKY   OF   Wir-LAMKTTK   VALI.KY. 


Mission.  He  had  now  secured  an  appointment  a.s  Indian  Agent  for 
the  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  was  on  his  way  back 
to  the  scene  of  liis  missionary  labors,  ^Mexander  and  John  McKay, 
sons  of  Tom.  McKay,  were  also  with  the  party,  being  homeward 
bound  from  a  few  years  of  attendance  at  school  in  New  York  State. 
These  three  had  lived  in  Oregon,  but  were  not  ac»|uainted  with  the 
route  thither.  Judge  Columbia  I  ancaster  and  his  family  a<!compa- 
nied  them  as  far  as  the  Kansas  River,  but  he  was  f(tmj)('ried  by  the 
sickness  of  his  \vife  to  abandon  the  journey  and  return.  A  few 
years  later  he  was  more  successful  and  his  name  is  now  indelibly 
stamped  upon  the  pages  of  Oregon  history.  Stephen  II.  Meek,  an 
experienced  mountaineer  and  In'other  of  Col.  Jo.  Meek,  served  as 
guide  and  general  advisor,  having  trapped  for  years  thrt)Ugli  the 
mountains  and  be^^n  in  Oregon  several  times,  first  with  Bonneville 
and  afterwards  sis  an  employee  of  the  Hudson's  Ba}-  Company.  F.  X. 
Matthieu,  well  known  in  the  State,  joined  the  train  at  Fort  Lara- 
mie, with  three  Frenchmen  whose  names  are  unknown.  Thomas 
Fitzpatrick,  a  former  partner  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Com- 
pany, and  one  of  the  most  experienced  of  mountain  men,  was  en- 
countered at  P'ort  Laramie  and  engaged  for  $500  to  pilot  the  train 
to  Fort  Hall.  At  Independence  Rock  a  young  man  named  Bailey 
was  killed  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  rifle;  and  L.  W.  Hast- 
ings and  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  two  names  prominent  in  Oregon  history, 
were  captured  by  Sioux  Indians  while  engaged  in  cai'ving  their 
names  <jn  the  face  of  the  rock.  They  were  ransomed  by  making 
their  captors  a  present  of  a  few  trinkets  and  pieces  of  tobacco;  and 
this  v/as  what  gave  rise  to  the  story  in  after  yeai-s  that  Hastings  had 
been  bought  for  a  plug  of  tobacco.  At  Green  River  one-half  of 
the  wagons  were  dismantled  and  used  to  make  pack  saddles,  since 
it  was  deemed  too  slow  and  difficult  a  task  to  take  the  whole  train 
further.  This  event  and  the  subsequent  incidents  of  the  journey 
are  thus  related  by  Hon.  Medorum  Crawford,  one  of  the  party: — 

Horses,  mules  and  oxen  were  packed  with  such  clothing,  utensils  and  provisions 
as  were  indispensable  for  our  daily  wants,  and  with  heavy  hearts  many  articles  of 
comfort  and  convenience,  wliich  had  been  carefully  carried  and  cared  for  on  the 
long  journey,  were  left  behind.  About  the  middle  of  August  we  arrived  at  Fort 
Hall,  then  an  important  trading  post  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
From  Captain  Grant,  bis  officers  and  employees,  we  received  such  favors  and  assist- 
ance as  can  only  be  appreciated  by  worn-out  and  destitute  emigrants.  Here  the 
remaining  wagons  were  left,  and  our  company,  no  longer  attempting  to  keep  up  an 


AMEKICANN  OROANIZK   A    PKOVISIONAI,  (lOVKKNM  KNT. 


249 


nrganizatioD,  divifled  into  small  parties,  each  traveling  as  fast  as  their  circiimstancet* 
would  permit,  following  the  well-boutcii  trail  of  tlie  Hudson's  Hay  (.'onipany  to 
Fort  Walla  Walla,  now  Wallula.  The  small  party  to  which  F  was  attiiched  was 
one  month  traveling  from  Fort  Hall  to  Dr.  Whitnum's,  whero  wt-  were  most  hos- 
pitably received  and  suj)plied  with  flour  and  vegetal)l('s  in  aliuiidance,  a  very 
acceptable  change  after  sui)sisting  almost  entirely  on  bullulo  meat  from  Laramie  to 
Fort  Hall,  and  on  salmon  from  Fort  Hall  to  Whitman's.  In  fact  there  had  not 
tieen  in  my  mess  a  mouthful  of  l)read  since  leaving  Ijaramie.  *  ♦  *  From 
Walla  Walla  Dr.  White  and  some  others  took  jaissage  down  the  ('oluml)ia  Ffiver  in 
the  Hudson's  Hay  (Jompany's  lioats.  Others  pursued  the  Jourmy  liy  land  to  The 
Dalles,  and  there  embarked  in  l)oat8  or  canoes,  and  still  others,  and  tiie  larger  por- 
tion of  the  emigrants,  crossed  tlie  Cascade  Mountains  on  the  old  [  iidian  trail.  From 
Fort  Hall  to  the  Willamette  no  precaution  was  taken  against,  or  tiie  slightest 
npi)rehensi(>n  felt  of  Indian  hostility,  nor  were  we  in  any  inslnnce  molested  by 
them  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  furnished  us  witli  salmon  and  ^anie,  and  rendered  us 
valuable  assistance  for  very  trilling  rewards.  From  Walla  Walla  to  the  Willamette 
Falls  occupied  al)out  twenty  ilays,  and  all  things  consi<lered,  was  the  hardest  part 
of  the  entire  journey — what  with  the  drifting  sands,  rocky  ciills,  and  raj)id  streams 
along  the  Columl)ia  Itiver,  and  the  gorges,  torrents,  and  thickets  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  it  seems  incredible  how,  with  our  worn-out  and  emaciated  aninuils,  we 
ever  reached  our  destination. 

The  members  of  that  little  train  of  1K4*J,  such  as  were  then  over 
eighteen  years  of  age,  are  thus  eimmerated  by  Mr.  Crawford: — 

The  following  named  men  over  eighteen  years  of  age  composed  the  emigration 
of  1842:  C.  T.  Arendell,  James  Brown,  William  Brown,  Gabriel  Brown,  Barnum, 
Hugh  Burns,  Geo.  W.  Bellamy,  Bennett,  Bennett,  Jr.,  Bailey  ( killed  i,  Nathaniel 
Crocker,  Nathan  Coombs,  Patrick  Clark,  Alexander  Copeland,  A.  N.  i'oates, 
Medorum  Crawford,  Allen  Davy,  John  Dearnn,  John  Dobbinbess,  Samuel  Davis, 
Foster,  John  Force,  James  Force,  Girtman,  Gibbs,  L.  W.  Hastings  J.  M.  Hudspeath, 
John  Hofstetter,  Hardin  Jones,  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  Reuben  Lewis,  F.  X.  Mattliieu,  S. 
W.  Moss,  J.  L.  Morrison,  Stephen  Meek,  Ale.x.  McKay,  John  McKay,  Walter 
Pomeroy,  Dwight  Pomeroy,  J.  W.  Perry,  Dutch  Paul,  J.  R.  Uobb,  Owen  .Sununer, 
T.  J.  Shadden,  Andrew  Sndth,  A.  D.  Smith,  Darling  Smith,  Adam  Storn,  Aaron 
Towner,  Joel  Turnham,  Elijah  White,  David  Weston,  Three  Frenchmen. 

The  condition  of  the  valley  and  the  settlers,  when  these  emigrants 
aiTived,  is  thus  delineated  l)y  Mr.  Cra^vford: — 

On  the  fifth  day  of  October  our  little  party,  tired,  ragged  and  hungry,  arrived  at 
the  Falls,  now  Oregon  City,  where  we  found  the  first  habitations  west  of  the  Cas- 
cade Mountains.  Here  several  members  of  the  Methodist  Mission  were  located, 
and  a. saw  mill  was  being  erected  on  the  island.  Our  gratification  im  arriving 
safely  after  so  long  and  perilous  a  journey,  was  shared  by  tiiosc  hospitable  people, 
each  of  whom  seemed  anxious  to  give  us  hearty  welcome  and  render  us  every  assist- 
ance in  their  power.  From  the  Falls  to  Vancouver  was  a  trackless  wilderness, 
communicati(m  being  only  by  the  river  in  small  boats  and  canoes.  Toward  Salem 
no  sign  of  civilization  existed  until  we  reached  the  French  Prairie,  where  a  few 
farms  near  the  river  were  cultivated  by  former  employees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  West  of  the  Falls  some  fifteen  miles  was  Tualitan  Plains,  where  a  few 
settlers,  mostly  from  Red  River,  had  located.  Within  the  present  limits  of  Yamhill 
Courty,  the  only  settlers  I  can  remember  were  Sidney  Smith,  Amos  Cook,  Francis 
Fletcher,  James  O'Neil,  Joseph  McLaughlin, Williams,  Louis  LaBoute  and 


250 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


George  Gay.  There  may  luive  lietn  one  or  two  more,  but  I  think  not.  South  of 
George  Gay's  on  tlie  west  end  of  Salem,  on  the  east  j«lde  of  the  Willaniette  River, 
there  were  no  settlements  in  tlie  territory. 

There  were  in  tlie  valley  some  twelve  or  fifteen  Methodist  Missionaries,  most  of 
them  having  families,  under  the  general  8U|)erintendeneeof  Rev.  Jason  Lee.  8ome 
of  them  were  living  at  llie  Falls,  some  at  Salem,  and  some  at  the  Mission  farm,  ten 
udles  lielow  Salem,  opixjsite  the  place  now  known  as  Whejitland.  .\t  these  places, 
especially  at  the  Falls  and  Salem,  many  improvements  were  being  made,  and  em- 
ployment was  given  at  fair  wages  to  all  who  desire<l  work.  Payment  was  made  in 
lumber  and  Hour  from  their  mills  at  Salem,  cattle  and  honrses  from  their  herds,  and 
orders  on  the  mission  stores  at  the  Falls,  kept  by  Hon.  (ieorge  .\lKrnethy.  There 
was  no  money  in  the  country,  and  in  fact  I  do  not  remember  seeing  a  piece  of 
money  of  any  description  for  more  than  a  year  after  my  arrival.  A  man's  financial 
condition  was  based  upon  his  cattle,  horses,  and  credit  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's or  Abernethy's  books.  With  these  he  could  pnx-ure  evcrjthing  that  was 
purchaseable  in  the  country.  All  kinds* of  tools  and  implements  were  scarce  ami 
generally  of  the  most  i)riniitive  character.  'I'here  were  no  wagtms  in  the  country. 
Carts  of  the  rudest  numufacture  were  in  general  use,  which  among  the  French 
were  frequently  ironed  with  raw-hide.  Ground  was  plowed  with  wcKHlen  mould- 
boards,  grain  was  threshed  in  rail  pens  by  the  tramping  of  lior*<es  and  cleaned  by 
winnowing  in  tlie  wind,  and  transported  in  canoes  and  l>ateuux  to  Fort  Vancouver 
to  market.  Most  of  our  clothing  came  from  the  Hudson's  IJay  Company,  was  all 
of  one  size,  and  said  to  have  been  made  to  fit  Dr.  McLoughlin,  who  was  a  very  large 
man.  Boots  and  shoes  were  more  difficult  to  Ik?  obtaine<l  than  any  other  article  of 
clothing;  as  for  myself  I  had  no  covering  for  my  feet  for  two  years,  either  summer 

or  winter,  l)Ut  buckskin  moccasins,  still  I  never  enjoyed  Itetter  health  in  my  life. 

«*♦♦♦» 

A  number  of  our  company,  jirobably  one-third,  dissatisfied  with  the  winter  and 
not  willing  to  wait  and  see  what  the  summer  would  bring  forth— acting  on  their 
migratory  instincts— determined  early  in  the  s|)ring  of  1843  to  go  to  California. 
It  was  said  of  some  of  those  that  thej'  ne%er  remai.ieil  in  one  place  longer  than  to 
obtain  the  means  to  travel ;  and  of  one  family  in  )>articular,  that  they  had  prac- 
tically lived  in  the  wagon  for  more  than  twenty  years,  only  remaining  in  one 
locality  long  enough  to  make  a  crop,  which  they  had  done  in  every  State  and  Ter- 
ritory in  the  Mississipiii  Valley.  Accordingly,  under  the  lead  of  L.  W.  Hastings, 
they  set  out  as  soon  as  the  weather  would  permit,  and.  after  encountTiug  ?ome 
difficulty  with  the  Indians,  they  reached  Sacramento  Valley,  .\mong  this  party 
was  Hon.  Nathan  Coombs,  then  a  mere  b()y,  who  afterwards  btH-ame  a  large  land 
owner  and  stock  raiser  in  Napa  Valley,  and  founder  of  the  city  of  that  name. 
Uncle  Tommy  Shadden,  who  is  here  to-tlay,  was  al.so  of  that  party.  In  the  spring 
of  1843  those  of  our  party  who  remained  in  the  countrj-  generally  l<K«ted  claims  in 
difl'erent  sections  of  the  Willamette  Valley,  and  laid  the  found.itions  for  homes 
they  had  traveled  so  far  to  obtain.  These  claims  were  by  common  consent  recog- 
nized and  respected  without  other  protection  than  public  opinion  until  the  pro- 
visional government  was  established,  which  providetl  that  non-residents  could  hold 
claims  by  having  them  recorded  and  paying  five  dollars  annually  into  the  terri- 
torial treasury. 

It  was  in  1842  tliat  the  first  regular  educational  institution  in 
Oregon  was  founded,  one  which  has  done  nol>le  work  for  the  youth 
of  the  coast,  and  which  still  flourishes  under  the  manageraeut  of  its 
founders,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     On  the  seventeenth  of 


AMERICANS  OROANIZK  A    PROVISIONAL  OOVKRNMENT. 


251 


Jamiarv,  1842,  at  the  call  of  Rev.  Jason  Let-,  the  pcoph*  aHHcmblcd 
at  Clieinckcta,  now  Noi'th  Salt-ni,  to  consider  the  (juestion  of  e.s- 
tal)lishing  an  e<lncational  institution  capable  <>f  meitwitr  the  wanti*  of 
the  growing  conununity.  A  committee  was  a[)[)ointe(l  and  the  meet- 
ing adjourned  till  tlie  tirst  of  FeV>ruary,  when  it  convened  in  the  old 
mission  building  which  had  I)cen  erected  in  18.'}4.  The  Oregon 
Institute  was  then  founded  with  the  following  board  of  trustees: 
IJcv.  Jason  Lee,  llev,  David  Leslie,  Rev.  (Justavus  I  lines,  Rev.  J. 
L.  Pani:.,  Rev.  L.  IL  Judsoii,  lion.  (leorge  Abernethy,  Alanson 
Ueei's,  IL  Campbell  and  Dr.  J.  L.  Habcock.  A  location  on  French 
Prairie  wjvs  lirst  seh'cted,  but  that  jdace  being  deficient  in  pure 
water,  the  institute  was  finally  located  on  Wallace  Prairie,  two  and 
one-lialf  miles  below  the  present  City  of  Salem.  A  constitution 
was  adopted  on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
( )ctober  the  school  was  foinially  p'aced  under  the  cliarge  of  the 
.Metliodist  /Episcopal  Church. 

The  'r.'j. ration  of  1H42,  small  thougli  it  wa.s  and  diminished  by 
the  migration  of  several  families  to  California,  served  to  materially 
strengthen  the  inde[)endent  American  element.  Those  who  were 
desirous  of  or<;anizinur  a  government  began  a<;ain  to  canvjiss  the 
s(il)ject,  the  leading  spirit  being  W.  H.  dray,  who  had  left  his 
associates — Whitman,  8j)alding,  Eells  and  Walker — and  settled  in 
the  AVillamette  Valley.  lie  gatheivd  a  few  of  the  trusty  ones  at 
his  house  to  consult  upon  the  best  means  of  getting  the  people 
together  so  as  to  get  a  spontaneous  action  fi'om  them  before  oppos- 
ing inHuences  could  have  time  to  work  uj)on  them.  A  simple  but 
effective  plan  was  devised — one  which  worked  to  a  charm.  Many 
domestic  animals  had  been  destroyed  l)y  wild  beasts,  decimating 
the  small  herds  of  the  settlers,  and  how  to  prevent  such  ravages  had 
become  a  serious  (piestion  with  every  settler.  It  was  decided  to 
call  a  meeting  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  devising  some  means 
for  the  protection  of  cattle  from  the  ravages  of  wild  beasts,  and 
notice  w.is  accordingly  sent  throughout  the  valley  for  every  settler 
to  attend  sucli  a  meeting  at  the  Oregon  Institute  on  the  second  day 
of  February,  1848.  The  attendance  was  very  large,  Dr.  Babcock 
occupying  the  chair.  The  presiding  officer  was  unaware  of  the 
secondary  object  of  the  meeting,  to  the  principle  of  which  he  was 
unfavorable.     A  committee  of  six  was  appointed  to  submit  a  plan 


252 


HISTORY  OK   WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


of  operations  to  an  adjourned  meeting  to  be  held  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  Mareh,  at  the  cabin  of  Joseph  Gervais.  These  two  gather- 
ings are  generally  known  among  the  pioneers  as  "  Wolf  meetings." 
Prior  to  the  second  meeting  LeBreton  and  a  Mr.  Smith  quietly  can- 
vassed the  sentiment  of  the  people  on  the  sul)ject  of  a  more  com- 
plete government,  finding  that  (juite  a  diversity  of  opinions  prevaih^d. 
There  was  a  lyceum  which  met  occasionally  at  Willanuitte  Falls, 
Vtefore  which  this  question  was  introduced,  and  was  discussed  with 
great  animation.  The  decision  there  reached  was  that  a  government 
at  that  time  wa.s  ine.xpedient.  A  government  was  advocated  by 
Dr.  McLoughlin — one  which  would  l»e  entirely  in<le]>endent  of  the 
two  nations  chiiming  Oregon.  L.  W.  Hastings,  ;;>*  attorney  for  the 
Doctor,  introduced  the  rescdution,  "That  it  is  expetlient  for  the 
settlei*s  of  the  coast  to  estaldish  an  In<lependent  (Tovernment,"  and 
this  was  the  l)asis  of  the  discussion.  The  negative  sitle  was  taken 
by  George  Abernethy  and  other  Americans,  the  former  introducing 
another  resolution  for  discussion  the  following  week.  This  was  as 
follows:  '■'■Resolved,  That  if  the  United  States  .-.xtends  its  jurisdic- 
tion over  this  country  within  the  next  four  years,  it  will  not  be  ex- 
peflient  to  form  an  Independent  Government."  After  much  earnest 
discussion  this  was  adopted,  and  the  ([uestion  was  placed  at  rest, 
apparentl}-.  Dr.  White,  ♦ihe  Indian  Agent,  advocated  a  government, 
provided  he  were  placed  at  its  liead;  but  the  adoption  of  the  last 
re8olu.ion  did  not  seem  to  offer  him  a 'certainty  of  such  a  happy 
consummation.  By  these  discussions  the  public  miiMl  w  as  some- 
what prepared  for  a  step  of  simie  kind  to  be  taken  Iteyond  that  of 
mere  protection  from  wild  beasts,  and  the  conse(|ueiice  was  that 
the  attendance  at  the  second  wolf  meeting  was  even  larger  than 
it  would  otlierwise  have  been.  James  A.  O'Neil,  v  lio  liad  been 
(quietly  notified  of  the  ulterior  purpose  of  the  meeting,  was  called 
to  the  chair,  and  he  carried  the  proceedings  as  ra|)idly  as  possible 
over  the  noir'nai  ol)ject  of  the  gathering,  full  provision  being  made 
for  tl.e  protection  of  the  herds.  William  II.  Gray  then  arose  and 
made  the  issembied  sevtJers  a  little  speech.  He  said  that  no  one 
would  for  a  moment  ([Uesti(»n  die  propr''-tv  and  judiciousness  of 
their  action.  It  was  just  and  natural  to  thus  s^'ek  to  protect  their 
animak  from  the  ravages  of  wolves,  bears  and  panthers.  Contin- 
uing, he  said: — 


AMERICANS  ORGANIZE   A   PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 


263 


How  is  it,  fellow  citizens,  with  you  and  nie,  uiid  our  wives  and  children?  Have 
we  any  organization  on  which  we  can  rely  for  mutual  protection  ?  Is  there  any 
power  or  influence  in  the  country  sulWcient  to  prottH?t  us  and  all  we  hold  dear  from 
the  worse  than  wild  l)ea.-fts  tliat  threaten  and  occasionally  destroy  our  cattle?  Who 
in  our  midst  is  authorized  to  call  us  together  to  protect  our  own  and  the  lives  of  our 
families?  True,  the  alarm  may  l)e  given,  as  in  a  recent  case,  and  we  may  run  who 
fe«"l  alarmed,  and  shoot  ott"  our  guns,  while  our  enemy  may  be  robbing  our  property, 
ravishing  our  wives,  and  burning  our  houses  over  our  defenseless  families.  Com- 
mon sense,  prudence  and  Justice  to  ourselves  demand  that  we  act  consistent  with 
the  i)rinciples  that  we  have  commenced.  We  have  mutually  and  unitedly  agreed 
to  defend  and  protect  our  cat(/e  and  doiucntir.  aiiitiiain;  now,  fellow  citizens,  1  sub- 
mit and  move  the  adoption  of  the  two  foil', wing  resolutions,  that  we  may  have  pro- 
tection for  our  person  and  lives,  as  well  as  our  cattle  and  lierds:  lienolvad,  That  a 
committee  l>c  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  taking  ineasur€>s 
for  the  civil  and  military  protection  of  this  colony.  Rtaulved,  That  said  committee 
consi.st  of  twelve  persons. 

The  resolutions  were  iinanimously  adopted,  and  J)i'.  HaV)cock, 
Dr.  White,  O'Neil,  Shoi-tess,  Newell,  Lucier,  (iray,  Gervais,  Hub- 
hard,  M'lloy,  Smith  and  Gay,  were  apj)(>inted  to  serve  on  the  com- 
mittee. About  two  weeks  hiter  the  committee  assembled  at  the 
Falls,  many  other  ijentlemen  being  present  and  j)articipating  in 
their  deliberations.  Ucv.  Jjuson  I^ee  and  (ireorge  Abernethy,  as  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Methodist  Mi.ssi(»n  sentiment,  made  speeches  in 
opposition  to  the  }>ro[)osed  action,  l^nalde  to  come  to  a  definite 
decision,  the  committee  csUled  a  genend  meeting  to  be  held  at  Cham- 
poeg  on  the  second  of  Miiy,  and  then  adjourned.  A  document  op- 
[losing  the  proposed  tietion,  and  styled  "  An  address  of  the  Canadian 
citizens  of  Oregon  to  the  meeting  at  (/htimpoeg,"  was  prepared  by 
the  anti- American  element,  and  circidated  among  the  Canadian 
French  population  foi'  signatures.  This  element  held  four  meet- 
ings to  organi/.e  an  opposition  to  the  iDovement — one  at  Vancouver, 
one  at  the  Falls,  and  two  at  Chanipoeg.  The  C'anadians  were  drilled 
to  vote  "No"  on  till  (jiiestions,  and  LeHreton,  whose  previous  affili- 
ation with  the  Catholic  ehMiient  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  learn 
of  these  plans,  ndvised  that  some  measure  be  introduced  upon  which 
they  shotdd  j)ro])ei'ly  \ote"Ves,"  to  thus  throw  them  mio  confu- 
sion and  expose  tlieir  ttictics.  The  settlers  ji.ss«'mbled  at  Chanipoeg 
in  forc<*  on  the  second  day  of  May,  and  cotisiderable  skirmishing 
was  indidged  in,  the  Canadians  invariably  voting  "No"  on  all 
t|Uestions  without  reference  to  the  hearing  they  had  upon  the  in- 
terests they  rej)rescnted  jind  Ix'coming  much  demoralized  in  conse- 
«|U«'nce.      Lelireton,  who  had  made  a  careful   cjinvass  of  those  in 


254 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


attendance,  finally  exclaimed,  "  We  can  risk  it,  let  us  divide  and 
count  I"  Gray  shouted,  "  I  second  the  motion  I"  Jo.  Meek  then 
stepped  quickly  out  of  the  crowd,  and  raising  his  voice  to  a  high 
pitch,  shouted,  "  Who's  for  a  divide?  All  for  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee and  oriranization,  folknv  me?"  The  Americans  quickly 
raniretl  them. -Ives  on  his  sich^  and  a  count  (hneloped  the  fact  that 
fifty-two  stood  in  line  with  him  and  only  fifty  on  the  oppos-ng  side. 
"Three  cheers  for  our  side!"  exclaimed  Meek,  and  as  the  i»'sponsive 
cheere  rose  in  the  air,  the  defeat  u  Canadians  withdrew  and  grad- 
ually left  the  victors  to  conduct  the  remainder  of  the  proceedings  to 
suit  theujselves. 

The  Committee  of  Twelve  then  reported  in  favor  of  the  selec- 
tion of  a  Legislative  Committee,  and  this  [>lan  was  ad<tpted.  Messrs. 
Hill,  Sliortess,  Xewell,  Beers,  lluhhard.  Gray,  O'Ned,  Moore  and 
Dougherty,  were  selected  for  the  conunittee,  ami  were  instructed  to 
rejM»rt  a  plan  of  government  to  a  meeting  to  be  held  at  Champoeg 
on  the  fifth  of  July.  Their  session  was  limited  to  six  days,  and 
their  per  diem  was  fixed  at  $1.25,  which  wjis  at  once  contributed 
to  the  Goveriiment  l»y  the  members.  Beers,  Parrish  and  Babcock 
volunteered  to  ju'ovide  gratuitously  for  the  board  of  the  committee, 
an<l  the  Mission  tendered  the  five  use  of  its  old  granaiT  for  a  council 
chamber.  The  committee  assembled  at  the  Falls  on  the  tenth  of 
May,  in  the  l)uilding  mentioned,  certainly  a  m«)st  un[)retentious 
structure  for  the  deliberations  of  a  legislature.  It  was  a  frame 
building,  16x30  feet,  and  one  and  one-half  stories  high,  the  upper 
|jorti(»n  being  used  tis  a  slee|)ing  ajjartment  and  storage  room.  The 
lower  story  was  divided  into  two  compartments,  one  of  tiu-m  doiiig 
dutv  as  a  scliool  room  and  church,  antl  the  other  as  a  warehouse  for 
the  storage  of  wheat.  Such  were  the  accommodations  fiijoywl  by 
the  first  Legislature  of  Oregon.  It  was  a  plain,  serviceable  struc- 
ture, and  they  were  plain,  nnitter-of-fact  men  who  had  met  there  t<» 
delilxrate  for  the  public  good.  The  Legislature  opened  its  session 
bv  ch(K>sin<r  Robert  Moore  for  Chairman,  and  (teorire  W.  LeBn'toii 
for  Secretary.  The  «piestion  of  an  executive  head  for  the  govern- 
ment was  first  considered;  and  this  was  a  matter  of  consideralde 
delicacy.  The  interests  represent«'d  by  the  vari«»us  iiduiliitants  of 
Oregon,  as  has  been  shown,  were  ((uite  distinct,  an<l  in  >ome  re- 
spects, were  inclined  to  clash  with  each  othei-.     To  chouse  an  exec- 


AMERICANS  ORGANIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  OOVERNMKNT. 


255 


utive  from  any  one  of  these  was  calculated  to  array  the  others  in 
either  open  or  covert  hostility  to  the  Government.  It  was  finally 
decided  that  it  would,  under  the  circumstances,  he  judicious  lo  re- 
pose that  authority  in  an  Executive  Conunittee  of  three  persons, 
who  should  represent  the  strons^est  and  most  desiral)le  interests 
amoni;  the  various  classes  to  be  included  in  their  jurisdiction.  The 
Legislature  adjourned  after  a  session  of  three  days. 

On  the  fifth  of  July  the  people  again  assendded  at  Chanipoeg 
to  hear  the  report  of  the  Legislative  Committee,  the  meeting  being 
presided  over  by  Rev.  Gustavus  Ilines.  The  Canadian  citizens  who 
signed  the  address  spoken  of  a])ove  were  pi'eseiit  in  force  at  the 
meeting  on  the  second  of  May  and  participated  in  rhe  proceedings, 
voting  against  oi-gaiiizution,  as  has  been  related.  Their  address 
was  not  then  presented,  but  later  was  place,!  in  the  hands  of  a  sub- 
committee of  three  to  whom  the  Legislative  Committee  had  dele- 
gated the  task  of  arranging  the  laws  ptussed  bv  them  for  sul  (mission 
to  the  meeting  now  under  discussion.  After  examiniui'  it  the  com- 
mittee  returned  it  to  the  Secretarv,  with  instructions  to  iile  it  among 
the  public  documents,  as  a  record  of  the  inteivsts  and  persons  op- 
posed to  the  oi'ganization  «)f  a  government.  At  the  meeting  now 
being  considered  many  of  them  were  jiresent  and  took  part,  ex- 
pressing themselves  as  favorably  disposed  towards  the  ol)ject  sought 
to  lie  obtained  by  the  Americans.  Othe.i's,  however,  declined  to 
attend,  and  asserted  that  tliey  would  not  submit  to  the  authority  of 
any  g<»vernment  which  might  be  organized.  This  was  also  the  po- 
sition assumed  l»y  the  Catholic  Missionaries  and  the  rejn'esentatives 
of  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company,  the  latter  even  addressing  a  com- 
nninicati(m  to  tlie  leaders  of  the  organization  movement,  stating  that 
they  felt  almndantly  able  to  defend  both  themselves  and  their  po- 
litical rights.  This  was  the  status  of  affairs  when  Mr.  llines  an- 
nounced the  meeting  as  prepared  to  hear  the  i-eport  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

Tiie  report  of  tlie  committee  was  presented  by  Chairman  Moore 
and  read  by  the  Secretary,  Mr.  i^eHretou.  The  debate  whicli  fol- 
lowed was  exceedingly  animated,  Mr.  llines  vigorously  opposing 
the  three-fold  executive  head  proposed  by  the  comuiittee.  Dr.  Bab- 
eock  also  opposed  it  on  the  ground  that  it  looked  too  much  like  a 
pernument  form  of  govei'ument,  instead  of  the  temporary  makeshift 


256 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


which  he  supposed  was  the  object  of  the  gathering.  ( )'Neil  and 
Shortest  sustained  the  report,  and  Mr.  Gray  made  a  forcible,  and, 
as  it  appears,  a  convincing,  argument  in  its  favor,  using  the  follow- 
ing languag;^: — 

Mk.  Pkksidkxt  an'i>  Fellow  Citizens:— The  speech  which  we  have  just 
listened  to,  troiu  our  presiding  officer  (G.  H.  Hines)  is  in  the  main  correct.  It  is 
true  that  the  Leirishitive  Coninilttee  were  not  instructed  to  bring  before  you  an 
executive  deiiaitiuent  in  the  law  and  government  you  proposed  to  form,  when  you 
appointed  your  coinniittee  to  j)repare  thesie  laws.  It  is  also  true  that  svlien  that 
coninilttee  met  they  found  that  they  coulid  not  advance  one  step  in  accomplishing 
the  worl<  you  instructed  them  to  perform,  without  some  sujiervising  intlueiicesome- 
where ;  in  sliort,  without  a  head.  Their  instructions  being  against  a  governor, 
they  have  provided  an  Kxecutive  Committee  in  place  of  a  single  man  for  governor. 
The  executive  head  is  to  act  in  place  of  a  senate  council  and  governor.  This  pro* 
vision  is  before  you  for  your  approval  or  rejection.  With  the  Executive  Committee 
our  organization  is  complete;  without  it,  we  have  no  head;  no  one  to  :-iee  that  our 
laws  arc  executed,  and  no  one  to  grant  a  reprieve  or  pardon  in  case  the  law  should 
be  enforced  against  the  life  or  projierty  of  any  one  for  the  violation  of  any  law,  no 
matter  what  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  real  or  sujiposed  violation 
might  be. 

Now,  fellow  citizens,  let  us  look  calmly  at  our  true  situation.  We  are  two  thou- 
sand five  liiiiidred  miles  from  any  point  from  which  we  can  receive  the  least  assist- 
ance by  land,  and  seventeen  thousand  miles  by  water.  A  portion  of  our  community 
are  organized  an<l  ready  to  protect  themselves,  and  to  defend  all  their  rights  and 
interests,  .Another  organization  of  a  religious  character  is  in  our  midst — I  should 
say,  two.  They  each  have  a  head  or  executive.  How  is  it  with  us?  Who  is  our 
head  in  all  that  pertains  to  our  civil  liberty,  rights  and  property?  It  is  possible  the 
gentlciuaii  may  wisli  us  to  remain  as  unprotected,  as  helpless  and  exposed  to  all  the 
dangers  that  surround  us  on  every  hand  as  we  have  heretofore  been.  If  he  does, 
you,  fellow  citizens,  I  am  sure  (lo  not  wish  to  add  to  his  feclilene.ss  liy  destroying 
the  organization  you  have  commenced,  because  he  is  afraid  of  what  some  Ca-sar  did 
in  Konie.  We  are  acting  for  ourselves  and  those  immediately  dependent  uinm  us 
for  protection.  In  union  there  is  strength.  I  believe  you  are  fully  satisfied  your 
committee  acted  honorably,  and,  as  they  thought,  for  the  good  of  all  they  repre- 
sented. If  siidi  is  the  case,  you  will  approve  of  tlii'ir  acts,  and  our  organization 
will  be  complete  as  they  have  jirepared  it  for  this  meeting. 

A  vote  wjis  then  tiikcii,  which  resulted  in  tin  almost  unanimous 
adojition  of  the  report.  The  next  thing  in  order  wtis  the  election 
(^f  the  n«'c('ssary  (ifficcrs.  Alanson  Beers,  David  Hill  and  J<)seph 
Gale  were  chosen  for  tlie  K.xecutive  Conunittee,  and  thus  the  fii^st 
reguliir  goveniment  in  Oregon  was  provided.  That  this  wjus  a 
movement  ptu'ely  American,  and  the  government  of  a  temponiry 
character  tinly,  is  jittest*-*!  by  the  preandde  to  the  laws  ailoptwl, 
which  stat<'s  that: — 

We,  the  iH-ople  of  Oregon  Territory,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  protection,  and 
to  secure  p«»ace  and  pros|>erity  among  ourselves,  agree  to  adopt  the  following  Ihwh 


AMERICANS  ORGANIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  QOVKUNMENT. 


25^ 


und  regulations,  until  such  time  as  the  United  States  of  America  extend  tlieir  Ju- 
risdiction over  UB. 

The  following  certificate  was  issued  to  the  Executive  Committee 
as  a  warrant  of  office: — 

This  certifies  that  David  Hill,  Alanson  Beers  and  Joseph  (iaie,  were  chosen  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  by  the  i)eoj»le  of  Huid  Territory, 
and  have  taken  the  oath  for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  their  offices, 
as  required  by  law. 

GEORGE  W.  LkBRETON,  Recorder. 

Wall  •  met,  Orkgon  Tebkitoby,  July  5,  18-13. 

Says  Mr.  Thornton,  in  sjjeaking  of  the  place  where  these  pro- 
ceedings were  taken: — 

It  may  not  be  quite  uninteresting  to  say  that  the  state  Hoiwe  in  which  all  this 
was  done  was  in  several  respects  difTerent  froni  that  in  whlcli  laws  are  made  at 
Wasliington  City.  The  Orejron  State  House  was  built  witli  jiosts  set  upri^lit,  one 
end  set  in  the  ground,  grooved  on  two  sides,  and  tilled  in  witli  poles  i..i(l  split  tim- 
ber, such  as  would  be  suitable  for  fence  rails,  with  plates  and  poles  acrosn  tlie  top. 
Rafters  and  horizontal  poles,  instead  of  iron  ribs,  held  the  cedar  l)arl<  which  was 
used  instead  of  thick  copper  for  roofing.  It  was  twenty  by  forty  feet,  and  did  not 
tlierefore  cover  tliree  acres  and  a  half.  At  one  end  some  puncheons  were  put  up  for 
a  platform  for  the  President;  some  poles  and  slabs  were  ])lace(l  around  for  seats; 
tliree  planks  about  one  foot  wiile  and  twelve  feet  long,  placed  ujKin  a  sort  of  stake 
platform  for  a  table,  were  all  tliiit  was  iK-iieved  to  be  necessary  for  the  use  of  the 
Legislative  Committee  and  the  clerks.  It  is  due  to  the  people  who  met  to  ajjprove 
or  disapprove  of  the  acts  of  that  conmiittee,  to  say  that  perfect  order  and  decorum 
characterized  all  the  proceedings  of  July  .jth,  1843. 

The  following  officers,  chosen  at  the  meeting  on  the  second  of 
May,  were  continued  in  office  until  the  election  of  their  successors 
on  the  second  Tuesday  in  May,  1S44,  at  which  time,  also,  a  Legis- 
lative Committee  of  nine  was  to  he  chi»sen:  A.  E.  Wilson,  Su[)reme 
Judge;  G.  W.  LeBreton,  Clerk  and  Recorder;  J.  L.  Meek,  Sheriff; 

W.  H.  Willson,  Treasurer;   A.  B.  Smitli, Compo,  L.  II.  JuJ- 

son  and  Hugh  Bm-ns,  Magistrates;  Stpiire  EUbetts,  F.  X.  Mattliieu 
and  Reuben  Lewis,  Con8tal>les;  J(»hn  Howard,  Majt>r;  S.  Smith, 
C.  McRoy  and  William  McCaity,  Captiiins. 

Having  thus  related  the  steps  taken  for  the  idganizatioii  of  a 
government,  it  is  in  order  to  consider  the  great  immigration  of 
184.'i,  which  arrive<l  a  few  weeks  later,  and  created  such  a  pre- 
[)onderance  of  American  sentiment  that  the  stability  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government  was  assured.  There  were,  however,  a  few  in- 
cidents which  occurred  prior  to  that  great  era  in  Oregon  history, 
whose  effect  upon  the  8ubse([iient  events  wius  extremel}'  marked,  and 
thus  renders  them  of  comparative  importance.     Th'se  relate  to  in- 


258 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


ckleuts  t;ro\viiig  init  of  the  intense  competition  of  the  ojjposing  mis- 
sionaries fc»r  sj)iritual  control  of  the  natives.     In  1841  the  Catholics 
made  proselytes  of  the  Cascades  Indians,  who  had  f.)rmerly  been 
under  tlie  influence  of  the  Methodist  Mission  at  The  Dalles,  com- 
pletely winning  them  away  from  Mr.   Waller.     This  greatly  in- 
tensilied  the  existinij  bitterness  between  the  reli<i:ious  factions.     The 
Catholics  were  rapidly  growing  in  power  and  influence,  the  Method- 
ists were  as  rapidly  declining,  and  the  missions  of  the  American 
lioai'd  were  making  but  feeble  progress.     Aside  fi'om  the  ascen- 
dency gi-adually  being  acijuired   by  the  Catholics,  there   was  one 
peculiar  reason  why  the  Protestant  missionaries  lost  favor  with  the 
Indians;  and  this  was  their  affiliation  with  the  American  settlers, 
who  were  regaixh'd  l)y  the  natives  as  intruders.     They  did  not  want 
wliite  people  to  settle  here  and  take  possession  of  the  land  over  which 
they  and  their  fathers  had   ruled  for  yeai-s.     This  feeling  led  the 
Nez  Perce  chief  Ellis,  in  18-K),  to  forbid  A.  B.  Smith  to  cultivate  a 
patcli  of  ground  on  the  Alpowa.     The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  en- 
couratfed   the  idea  anion*;  the  Indians  that  the  missions  were  but 
step2)ing-stones  to  American  occupation,  and  this  idea  was  supported 
l»y  the  conduct  of  those  in  charge  of  the  Methodist  mission  in  the 
Willamette,  whidi  liad  become  the  general  headquarters  for  Amer- 
ican settlei's,  as  well  as  tlie  energetic  and  prominent  part  taken  by 
Dr.  AVhitmau  in  brimjinij:  immii;rants  into  Oregon.     The  fur  com- 
pany  had   been  here  for  years,  and  had  not  only  not  taken  their 
lands,  but  had  supplie<l  them  with  a  market  for  their  furs  and 
l)orses;  yet  the  Americans,  who  were  but  newcomers,  were  already 
taking  a\vay  their  lands,  and  more  airived  yearly.     The  outgrowth 
of  this  was  a  feeling  of  bitterness  against  the  Americans  and  the 
Protestant  missionaries,  in  which  neither  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
f>any  nor  the  Catholics  were  included;  and  this  feeling  intensified 
from  year  to  year.     It  was  manifested   in   1841    by  insulting  and 
threatening  conduct  towards  the  missionaries  both  at  Waiilatpu  and 
Lapwai,  and  in  1842  this  became  so  threatening  that  an  effort  was 
made  to  check  it.     Dr.  Elijah  White,  whose  arrival  that  fall  with 
authority  as  an  Indian  Agent  has  been  noted,  paid  a  visit  to  tlie 
Nez  Perces  in  Novem))er,  accompanied  })y  Thonms  McKay  and  Mr. 
Archibald  ]\IcKinlay,  agent  at  Fort  Walhi  Walla.     A  treaty  was 
concluded,  aud  the  triby  adopted  a  systt^m  of  laws,  in  which  the 


AMERICANS  ORGANIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 


259 


general  principles  of  right  and  justice  were  embodied  in  a  form  suit- 
able to  their  customs  and  condition.  The  same  laws  were  adoj)ted 
by  the  Wascopums,  at  The  Dalles,  but  nothing  was  accomplished 
with  the  Cay  uses.  The  next  year  Baptiste  Dorion,  a  half-breed  in- 
terpreter for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  upon  his  own  responsibil- 
ity, circulated  the  story  that  the  Americans  were  coming  up  in  the 
summer  to  take  their  lands.  This  created  great  excitement  among  the 
tribes  along  the  base  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  the  young  braves 
wanted  to  go  to  the  Willamette  at  once  and  exterminate  the  settlers. 
They  were  held  in  check  by  the  older  ones,  ^vhile  Peo-peo-mux- 
mux,  the  great  Walla  Walla  chief,  went  to  Vancouver  to  investi- 
gate. He  was  informed  by  Dr.  McLoughlin  that  he  did  not  believe 
the  Americans  entertained  such  an  idea,  and  his  report  to  the  tribes 
allayed  the  excitement  to  a  certain  extent.  Dr.  AN'hite  went  up  in 
April  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Cayuses,  and  they  adopted  the 
Nez  Perce  laws,  electing  Five  Crows,  who  lived  on  the  Umatilla 
not  far  from  the  site  of  Pendleton,  as  head  chief.  The  result  of 
this  was  to  restore  the  feeling  of  security  for  a  time.  Several  French 
Canadians  were  to  have  accompanied  Dr.  White,  but  were  advised 
to  remain  at  home  by  Dr.  McLoughlin.  This  action  of  the  Chief 
Factor  has  been  se\erely  censured  and  has  served  as  an  argument 
to  prove  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  stiri'ing  up  the 
Indians  to  drive  the  Americans  from  the  country.  The  Amer- 
ican settlers  had  but  a  few  days  before  unanimously  signed  a 
memorial  to  Congress,  in  which  Dr.  McLoughlin  was  severely  cen- 
sured. About  this  time,  also.  Father  Demers  arrived  fi'om  the  in- 
terior and  informed  him  that  the  Indians  were  oidy  incensed  against 
the  Boston  people,  and  had  nothing  against  the  French  and  King 
George  j)eople;  but  they  were  determined  the  Bostons  sliould  not 
have  their  lands  and  take  away  their  liberties.  Learning  that  his 
people  were  in  no  danger,  and  snnirting  under  the  undeserved 
charges  in  the  memorial,  it  is  not  at  all  unnatural  that  he  should 
say:  "Let  the  Americans  take  care  of  themselves."  It  was  thus 
matters  stood  when  the  great  immigration  of  l)S4;i  arrived,  demon- 
strating to  the  Indians  that  their  fears  \vere  far  from  groundless. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Dlt.  WHITMAN  AND  THE  EMIGRATION  OF  1843. 

What  Induced  the  K mUj ration  of  ISIfS — Steeps  Taken  to  Organize  the 
Movement — Dr.  Whitinatt's  Character — His  anxiety  to  Americanise 
Oregon — The  Ashhurtim  Treaty  and  the  Cod  Fishery — Whitman's 
Deci  'on  to  Visit  Washiit'jtou — 57«?  Waiilaj)tu  Meeting — The  Un- 
fortunate Controversy  t.'ver  the  Services  of  Dr.  Whitman — Gray^s 
Walla  Walla  Romance — Its  Absurdity  Pointed  Out — The  Facts — 
Whitvnni  and  Lovrjinfs  Journey- — Extent  of  Whit/nan's  Jnfuence 
in  I ndnciny  Emigration — His  Visit  to  Washington  and  Boston — 
Organization  and  Journey  of  the  Emigrants — List  of  Emigrants 
and  Popiflation  of  Oregon  in  18^3 — Fremont^s  Exploring  Party. 


IN  iiearl}  sill  piwious  writings  upon  this  subject  the  emigra- 
tion of  1843  has  been  considered  from  the  wrong  end — from 
the  Oregon  end — the  -destination  of  the  emigrants,  instead  of  the 
Mississippi  \' alley,  their  starting  point.  It  should  be  viewed  from 
the  place  where  the  movement  had  its  inception,  to  obtain  a  correct 
and  adecpiate  understanding  of  the  subject.  The  great  emigra- 
tion to  Oregon  that  year  was  the  I'esult  of  causes  which  ha<l  ])een 
at  work  for  a  number  (»f  yeai's,  and  was  not  a  haat)'  and  ill-consid- 
ered action  of  people  suddenly  aroused  ])y  the  voice  of  one  nuin,  a*< 
it  has  too  often  been  represented. 

With  tlie  diplomatic  negotiations  whicli  terminated  in  a  treaty 
of  joint  occupation;  with  the  efforts  i)f  Hall  J.  Kelley  and  others  to 
induce  emigration  to  Oregon,  and  with  the  struggle  made  by  Bon- 
neville, Wyeth  and  others  to  enjoy  practically  the  theoretical  bene- 
fits of  the  comi^romise  treaty,  the  previous  pages  have  ilealt  at 
length.  All  these  had  a  tendency  to  turn  the  attention  of  the  peo- 
j)le  towards  this  far-off  land,  and  especially  of  those  hardy,  self-re- 
liant and   adventuresome  men  who  were  then  building  up  those 


I)K.  WHITMAN  AXD  THE  EMIGKATIOX  OK  KOKTY-THltKK. 


2«1 


powerful  States  which  lie  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  They 
received  better,  more  direct  and  more  reliable  information  of  the 
character  and  accessibility  of  Oregon  than  did  the  residents  of  the 
Atlantic  slope,  whose  ideas  of  this  region  were  largely  formed  from 
the  depreciatory  writings  of  English  jiuthors.  As  has  before  been 
said,  Irving's  "Astoria"  and  "Bonneville,"  Dr.  Parker's  book,  the 
letter  written  in  1839  })y  Robert  Shorteas,  Congressional  reports 
and  debates,  and  other  brief  publications  had  given  those  who 
cared  to  read  them  pretty  correct  ideas  of  Oregon.  The  trappei*8 
who  had  in  person  visited  this  region  in  some  of  their  numerous 
journeys  through  the  mountainotis  West,  or  had  learned  them  from 
the  lips  of  such  of  their  (!ompanions  as  had  done  so,  sang  the 
pi'aises  ()f  Oiegon's  mild  climate  and  the  l)eautiful  Valley  of  the 
Willamette,  along  the  whole  frontier.  Oregon  became  a  familiar 
word  in  St.  Louis  and  throughout  the  region  bordering  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  tributary  to  that  great  center  of  the  fur  trade.  The 
"Oregon  Hills"  introduced  into  Congress  in  the  fall  of  1842  by 
Senator  Linn,  of  Missouri,  have  been  referred  to,  as  well  Jis  their 
consignment  to  temporary  oblivion  l)y  his  death  the  following  year. 
These  attracted  much  attention  along  the  fi'ontier,  and  hundreds 
who  had  ]>re\iously  Iteen  deterred  from  following  their  inclination 
to  emigrate  to  this  land  of  dispute,  l)ecoming  convinced  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  (iovernment  to  assert  in  earnest  its  claim  to 
this  region,  and  that  the  bill  donating  to  each  emigrant  one  section 
of  land  woidd  be  pjissed,  resolved  to  make  the  hazardous  journey. 
Said  one  of  these,  Gen.  E.  L.  Applegate,  in  a  recent  speech: — 

This  proposition  d«>oj>ly  toiiclied  the  heart  of  the  western  pioneer.  He  had 
pr()hal)l.v  crossed  the  Bine  Hid^e  or  the  (  unilierland  Mountains  when  a  boy,  and 
was  now  in  liis  ]irinie.  Itugued,  liardy  and  jtowerful  of  frame,  lie  was  full  to  over- 
flowing with  the  love  of  adventure,  and  animated  by  a  brave  soul  that  scorned  the 
very  idea  of  fear.  All  had  heard  t)f  the  perpetually  green  hills  and  plains  of  West- 
ern Oregon,  and  how  that  the  warm  breath  of  the  vast  Pacillo  tempered  the  air  to 
the  genial  degree  and  drove  winter  far  back  towards  the  north.  Many  of  them 
contrasted  in  the  inutgination  the  open  stretch  of  a  mile  scpuire  of  rich,  green  and 
grassy  land,  where  the  strawberry  plant  bloomed  through  every  winter  month, 
with  their  circumscribed  clearings  in  the  Missouri  B»>ttom.  Of  long  winter  esenings 
neighbors  visited  each  other,  and  before  the  big  shell-bark  hickory  fire,  the  seasoned 
walnut  fire,  the  dry  black  jack  lire,  or  the  roaring  dead  elm  tire,  they  talked  these 
things  over;  and,  as  u  natural  consequence,  under  these  favorable  circumstances, 
the  spirit  of  emigration  warmed  up  ;  and  the  "Oregon  fever"  became  as  a  house- 
hold expression.  Thus  originated  the  vast  cavalcade,  or  emigrant  train,  stretch- 
ing its  Btirpentiue  length  for  miles,  enveloped  in  the  vast  pillars  of  dust,  patiently 


202 


III8T0RT  OF  WILLAMKTTK  VALLET. 


wending  Ite  tDilsoine  way  across  the  Amerionn  Continent.  How  familiar  these 
scenes  and  experiences  with  tlie  old  pioneers!  Tlie  vast  plains;  tin*  uncountable 
herds  of  l>uft°alo:  tlic  swift-footed  antelope;  the  luin<ls  of  niouiitcii,  painted  warriors; 
the  runKt'*'  snow-capi)ed  mountain  ranges;  the  deep,  swift  and  dangerous  rivers; 
the  lonesome  howl  of  the  wild  wolf;  the  midnight  yell  of  the  assaulting  savage; 
the  awful  panic  and  stampede;  the  solemn  and  silent  funcnd  at  the  dead  hour 
of  iiiy;ht,  and  tlie  lonely  and  hidden  >?raves  of  departed  Iriends— what  memories 
are  associated  with  the  "  plains  across  ! " 

Tlip  first  united  effort  was  a  moeting  held  in  Alton,  111.,  on  the 
eighth  of  Novt'inlxT,  1S4'J,  at  wliich  were  jtassed  resolutions  urging 
the  iniportanee  of  a  speedy  occupation  of  Oregon.  These  resolu- 
tions were  introduced  liy  General  Seinple,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
that  State  who  had  taken  great  interest  in  this  region,  and  were 
supported  by  him  in  an  ehxiuent  speech.  Another  ni'i'ting  was 
held  at  S[)ringfield,  the  State  Capital,  on  the  fifth  of  tl.  following 
February,  which  was  participated  in  l)y  many  distinguished  men 
of  Illinois,  and  similar  resolutions  were  passed.  One  of  those 
present  was  the  gifted  and  ehxpient  Col.  E.  I).  Haker,  wlio  after- 
wards became  a  United  States  Senator  from  Oregon,  and,  strange 
to  say,  he  was  one  of  two  gentlemen  who  s[)oke  in  op}>osition  to  tlie 
resolutions.  The  ft)llowing  July,  several  weeks  after  the  emigra- 
tion had  taken  up  its  toilsome  march,  "a  Convention  of  Delegates 
from  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  AVest  and  Southwest "  as- 
sembled in  Cincinnati,  and  passed  resolutions  urging  Congress  to 
assert  the  claim  of  the  United  States  as  far  north  as  "iifty-four- 
forty"  immediately.  How  this  became  a  political  (piestion  the  fol- 
lowing year,  will  be  made  clear  in  the  next  cha[)ter. 

In  these  various  \va\'s  quite  an  interest  was  stirred  up  in  the 
Mississippi  States,  during  the  winter,  and  it  became  generally  un- 
derstood, and  was  so  announced  by  the  few  papers  printed  along 
the  border,  that  a  larcje  emiy;ration  would  start  for  Orecjon  the  fol- 
lowing  spring,  rendezvousing  at  Independence,  Missouri. 

It  is  now  that  Dr.  Whitman  aj^pears  upon  the  scene,  and  to  ex- 
plain his  sudden  entre  it  is  necessary  to  relate  incidents  occui'ring  in 
Oregon  the  summer  and  fall  previous.  Although,  for  geographical 
reasons,  he  did  not  participate  in  the  various  efforts  of  the  settlers 
in  the  Willamette  Valley  to  form  a  Provisional  Go\ernment,  his 
heart  was  in  the  movement.  He  was  the  most  keenly  tdive  to  the 
necessities  of  the  hour,  and  more  w'atchful  of  the  true  interests  of 
the  Americans  than  even  the  most  prominent  actors  in  the  govern- 


I)K.   WHITMAN   AN'D  THE  EMIORATION   OF   FORTVTIIKKK. 


>>(■).•{ 


ilong 


nipntiil  agitation.  He  was  a  true  American,  jealous  of  his  country's 
honor  and  zealous  to  promote  her  interests.  His  faith  in  the  future 
— the  American  future — of  Oregon  was  unhoun(le<l,  and  his  mind 
penetrated  the  misty  veil  with  prophetic  power.  As  early  as 
IS.'iS  an  incident  «>ccurred  which  revealed  his  abiding  faith  in  the 
destiny  of  Oregon.  Dr.  William  C  McKay  relates  an  anecdote 
which  is  of  importance  to  show  Whitman's  ideas  on  this  sul)ject  at 
that  early  day.  His  father,  Thomas  McKay,  dcfcided  to  send  him 
to  Scotland  to  be  (Hlncated,  and  with  this  end  in  view  they  started 
up  the  C»dund)ia.  Whitnnin  and  McKay  being  warm  friends,  they 
decided  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Waiilatpu,  where  they  were  to 
separate,  AVilliam  to  accompany  the  annual  ^lontreal  express  by 
the  Manitoba  route,  and  his  father  to  proceed  to  F'ort  Hall,  where 
he  was  the  company's  agent.  Dr.  M'^hitman  urged  ^IcKay  to  send 
his  son  to  th(^  United  States  to  be  educated.  "Make  an  American 
of  him,"  said  he,  "for  this  country  will  surely  belong  to  the  Ameri 
cans."  McKay  was  convinced,  and  William's  route  was  changed 
fiom  ManitoVia  to  the  Fcrt  Hall  trail.  He  went  to  Fairfield,  N. 
v.,  and  entered  the  same  school  at  which  Dr.  Wndtman  wa.s  edu- 
cated, returning  to  Oregon  a  few  years  latei"  as  a  medical  practi- 
tioner. Several  other  incidents,  the  details  of  which  it  is  needless 
to  relate,  contirm  the  statement  that  the  Doctor  was  a  true,  zealous, 
watchful  and  energetic  guardian  of  Amt^rican  interests  in  Oregon. 
When  Governor  Simpson  visited  this  region  in  the  fall  of  1841, 
followed  a  few  days  later  by  the  immigrants  from  Red  River,  whose 
arrival  has  Iteen  previously  noted.  Dr.  Whitman,  with  luh  acute  per- 
ceptive qualities,  in  a  measure  defined  the  intentions  of  the  company. 
He  realized  with  the  convincing  force  of  a  revelation,  that  nothing 
l»ut  a  great  an<i  unex[)ec,ted  intlu.x  of  American  immigrants  could 
thwart  the  de('i)-laid  plans  of  the  gr<!at  corporation.  He  became 
restless  and  anxious.  It  seemed  to  him  that  it  was  necessary  for 
some  one  to  return  to  the  States  and  arouse  the  people  and  the 
Government  to  the  exigencies  of  the  liour.  Procra.stination  was 
dangerous  and  supine  inaction  was  fatal;  yet  his  missionaiy  work 
was  a  charge  U[)on  his  mind  which  could  not  be  lightly  shaken  off. 
When  the  immigration  of  1842  arrived,  as  has  l>een  related,  many 
of  them  camjied  for  a  time  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mission.  ^Vmong 
these  was  A.  Lawrence  Lovejoy,  with  whom  Whitman  frequently 


2<14 


IlIHTORY  OF   WILLAMETTE   \  ALLKY. 


and  ciinu'stl y  conversctl  on  the  subject  of  <  )reuon  and  events  and 
«»[)inions  In  the  K.ist  iiffectinsi;  it.  He  h*arned  that  Lord  Ashlnirtou, 
an  enihassador  of  (jreat  Britain,  was  evt-n  then  in  \\'ashin<;ton  ne- 
gotiatini;  for  a  setth'uient  of  the  houndarv  line  l»et\ve'  n  C'ana(hi  and 
the  rnite<l  States;  and  naturally  supposiuir  that  in  this  th«'  Oregon 
Question  was  involved,  he  heeanie  e«invine«Ml  that  it  was  liis  duty  to 
proeeed  to  Washiuirton  with  all  dispateh  jxi.-*siMe,  and  enligliten  tlie 
Govenmu'nt  uj)on  the  subject,  knowiui;  full  well  that  tlie  value  of 
this  nia<;nificent  region  was  n<)t  in  the  least  reali/.eil  l»v  the  author- 
ities  or  the  pe«)ple  generally.  It  has  been  fretpiently  state<l  that  the 
Government  was  considering  a  ju'oposition  made  by  Lor<l  Ashbur- 
ton  to  abandon  all  claim  to  Oregon,  in  con-;ideration  of  «-ertain  fish- 
ing privileges  on  the  Atlantic  cojist  of  British  America,  and  that  this 
intelligence  was  conveyed  to  AVhitman  by  Lovejoy.  How  this  took 
its  rise  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain,  as  all  efforts  to  trace  it  to  a  source 
have  been  futile.  Lt)vejoy  does  not  say  so  in  his  account  of  these 
events;  no  one  has  testified  that  Whitman  ever  ma<le  such  an  asser- 
tion, and  it  seems  utterly  without  foundation.  The  records  of  the 
State  Department  do  not  disclose  any  such  negotiations;  they  were 
publically  and  emphatically  denie<l  by  Daniel  AVel)ster,  tlu'ough 
whom,  as  Secretary  of  State,  the  negotiations  were  c<»nducted,  and, 
finally,  the  Oregon  Question  was  not  inclu(h*<l  in  the  negotiations 
at  all,  which  had  sole  reference  to  the  unsettled  boiuidarv  line 
further  east.  To  be  sure  it  is  now  clainunl — and  it  was  not  so  at 
first — that  this  portion  of  the  negotiations  was  secret  and  confiden- 
tial; but  if  such  was  the  case  it  becomes  still  more  incumbent  upon 
those  who  make  the  assertion  to  province  some  kind  of  evidence 
which  will  weigh  against  the  positive  denial  of  one  of  the  principal 
actors.  No  such  evidence  has  ever  l)een  pr<Hluceil,  an<l  it  rests  solely 
upon  unsupported  assertion.  It  is  endent  tliat  the  cod  fishery 
episode,  with  all  the  changes  that  have  })een  rung  upon  it  V»y  dra- 
matically disposed  writers  and  enthusiastic  si^eakeiN,  is  utterly  with- 
out foundation. 

As  it  was,  however,  Whitman  decided  that  his  duty  to  his 
country  was  paramount  to  his  duty  to  the  American  Boanl,  and  he 
determined  to  return  East.  About  this  time,  probably  at  the  hands 
of  the  emigrants,  Whitman  received  notice  from  the  lioard  that  it 
had  decided  to  discontinue  the  missions,  which  were  very  expensive 


DH.  WHITMAN  AND  THE  EMIOKATION  OF  FORTY   TIIKKK. 


265 


and  were  maklnj;  imsatisfactory  progi'ess,  and  tliongh  tluH,  |)i'(il»a- 
l»ly,  liad  sonu'tliinf^  to  do  with  his  (h'terniination  to  <so  East,  his 
conduct  wliile  tlicn-  shows  tliis  consideration  to  have  In-cn  a  second- 
ary one.  lie  summoned  his  associates  fr(»m  the]^a}>\vai  and  Tshini- 
akain  missions,  to  consult  in  re<;ard  to  the  matter,  S|»aldlng,  (tray, 
Eells  and  Walker  promptly  respt)nded  to  the  call,  and  when  the 
Doctor  laid  l»efi)re  them  the  jdau  he  had  formed,  they  opposed  it 
nuanimously.  To  their  objection  that  politics  should  ni»t  l»e  per- 
iuitte<l  to  interfere  with  missionary  work,  he  replied  that  his  first 
dutv  was  to  his  country,  and  if  necesNary  to  choose  hetween  the  two 
he  would  resign  his  mission.  Knowing  his  inflexible  character  and 
deep  convicti(»ns  of  duty,  they  dared  no  longer  o}>|)(tse  him  for  fear 
of  losing  the  master  spirit  of  their  mission.  Says  Mi-.  Eells:  "AVe 
yielde<l  oidy  when  it  became  eyident  that  he  would  go,  even  if  he 
had  to  become  disconnected  with  the  missi(»n  in  order  to  do  so." 
Whitman  was  accordingly  ofiicially  delegated  t<)  proceed  to  lioston 
t<»  transact  business  pertaining  to  the  missions,  and  the  various  mis- 
sionaries departed  to  their  several  stations  to  prepare  reports  »nd 
letters  for  him  to  take,  the  date  of  his  depurture  being  fixed  at  the 
fifth  o(  October.  T'lls  was  done  in  order  to  conceal  the  real  ol)ject 
of  such  an  Uiiprecedeuted  undertaking — a  winter  journey  across  the 
mountains.  An  official  record  of  this  meeting  was  ke[)t,  up(Mi  the 
face  of  which  ap})eared  only  the  proceedings  which  had  I'cfei'ence  to 
mis.<-ionary  work.  This  was  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  AN'hitman 
Mussacre,  but  its  loss  is  immaterial,  except  that  it  would  detei-niine 
the  date  of  the  meeting.  As  to  the  nature  of  the  proceedings,  there 
is  sufficient  I'eliable  oral  testimony  to  settle  that  beyontl  dispute. 
Mr.  Eells,  whose  word  no  one  who  knew  him  would  ever  question, 
says  the  meeting  was  held  in  September.  He  ad<ls:  "After  an 
extended  diseussion,  it  was  voted  unanimously  that  Dr.  Whitman 
have  the  api)roval  of  the  mission  to  attempt  to  make  the  journey  as 
hereinl)efore  indicated.  The  controlling  object  Wiw  to  make  a  des- 
perate attempt  to  save  the  country  to  the  Unit(;d  States.  It  was 
also  expected  that  the  opportunity  would  be  imjiroved  for  the 
transaction  of  business  relating  to  the  mission.  The  fifth  of  the 
the  following  October  was  set  as  the  day  on  -which  Dr.  Whitman 
would  start.     Letters  were  to  be  prepared  and  forwarded  accord- 


266 


HISTORY  OF   WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


inirly.    Prft1)al>ly  fvont;*  transpirini^  in  tho  intervening  time  hastened 
liis  departure,  so  that  he  h>ft  on  the  tliird  o£  October." 

This  feature  of  Oregon  history  lias  been  the  subject  of  much  lit- 
erary controvei-sy.  No  one  can  have  rea('  the  preceding  pages  with- 
out liaving  become  convinced  of  the  sterling  integrity,  Hrniness  of 
purj)ose  and  energy  of  action  of  Dr.  Whitman.  His  character  and 
services  to  the  American  cause  entitle  him  to  the  tirst  plac<'  among 
those  whosi'  memory  th«  citizei.s  of  Uregon  sliould  ever  revere,  and 
whom  all  true  Americans  slntuld  honor;  yet  zealous  friends  have  in 
their  eagerness  to  place  laurels  on  his  brow,  claimed  f(»r  him  more 
than  he  ever  would  have  sanctioned  or  pei-Juitted  had  he  not  fallen 
before  the  treacherous  Idows  of  ungrateful  savages.  In  tlieir  zeal 
they  have  alli»wed  their  imaginations  to  take  too  lofty  flights  and 
have  wandered  too  far  into  the  realms  of  ronuuice,  'I'hat  most  of 
these  have  been  absolutely  sincere,  their  sympathies,  pei'haps,  being 
somewhat  too  deeply  stirred  by  denominiitii>nal  influences,  is  bevond 
(pH'stion;  yet  so  much  can  not  be  said  of  the  author  of  the  (jues- 
tionalile  st(»ry  ujton  which  has  been  laid  the  f(»undation  of  their 
claims,  who,  apj)arently,  was  actuated  by  the  desire  to  shine  in 
the  reflected  light  which  would  naturally  fall  upon  him  as  an  asso- 
ciate with  the  martyred  mi->ionary  in  his  early  lab(»rs  ajuong  the 
Indians.  In  this  he  overshot  the  mark,  and  drew  down  '>ipon  him- 
self the  vigorous  criticism  of  those  who,  wishing  not  to  in  the  least 
tU'tract  from  the  just  merits  of  Dr.  Whitman,  earnestly  desii-ed  that 
the  actual  facts  only  should  Hnd  a  place  in  recorded  history.  It  is 
to  be  regn'ttinl  that  certain  writ<'rs  have  been  led  by  their  disbelief 
in  this  romance  to  take  tlie  negative  throughout,  and  not  oidy  deny 
Dr.  Whitman  any  honoi*  whatever,  but  «'ven  accuse  hini  of  deceit- 
ful, treaclu-iMUs  and  selfish  conduct.  Suidi  >vriters  are  o]>en  to  the 
same  I'harge  of  prejudice  and  unfairness  which  the\'  lay  at  the  door 
of  the  author  of  this  unfortunate  controversy.  A\'ell  might  Dr. 
Whitman  exclaim — with  others  whose  rejiutation  has  been  jeopai'd- 
ized  by  mistaken  zeal — "Save  me  from  my  frien  '  . '  The  contro- 
versy lias  not  been  without  its  l)enefits.  It  has  settled  beyond  dispute 
in  the  mintls  of  tho>e  who  have  given  the  subject  a  just  and  careful 
consideration,  the  permanent  and  e.xalted  position  Dr.  Whitman 
must  everoccu|»v  in  the  annals  of  ( >rei:-on.  To  estal)lish  this  tlu' 
romance  was  unneces-sury,  yet  as  it  ha«  been  widely  cirouluteil,  and 


DU.   WHITMAN  AND  THE  EMIORATION  OF  FOnTY-THUEK. 


267 


tiiuls  a  place  in  a  nunilKT  of  historical  .skctclu's  and  ostensilile 
liistorics  of  Ort'goii,  it  becomes  necessary  to  relate  it,  tot;ether 
with  tlie  few  simple,  undeniable  facts  wliicli  refute  it.  This  i-o- 
iiiaiice  WIS  not  the  production  of  Mr.  E<'lls.  That  ijentlenian 
never  unch.iincd  his  fancy  when  relatiiiir  facts.  lie  would  not  un- 
dertake the  Ini/.ardous  feat  of  r<'])rodncin<:;  the  exac^  lanuuaife  used 
hy  several  peo[)le  in  a  conversation  occurriiiir  tliir;  ,  years  liefore, 
:it  which  he  was  not  present,  and  with  the  hai'e  sul)>tance  of  which 
he  couhl  alone  be  acquainted.  That  such  was  attempted  indicates 
how  little  the  necessity  of  adherinjij  to  the  exact  facts  weijxhed  upon 
the  mind  of  the  author  of  the  romance.  It  was  first  <;iven  to  the 
World  in  (irny's  "  History  of  Ore<i;()n,"  {)ublished  a  number  of  years 
au'o  l»y  William  II.  (rray,  whose  intense  Americanism  and  bitter 
antaijfonism  to  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company  led  him  to  take  the 
prominent  and  leading,'  part  we  have  just  seen  he  acted  in  the  or- 
i,'ani/-ation  of  the  Provisional  (Jovernment,  and  which,  l)eeominij:  in- 
tensified and  more  firmly  setth-d  as  tiie  years  rolled  by,  ren(h're<l 
him  incompetent  to  form  an  unprejudiced  opinion  or  do  justice 
to  those  to  whom  he  was  instinctively  o[)posed.  The  work  referred 
to  contains  the  following  j)aragrapli: — 


In  Septemhor,  1W42,  Dr.  Wliltnmn  wa«  onllwl  to  visit  a  patient  at  old  l-'ort  Wallu 
Wiilla.  Willie  llu'i'c  a  luiMilx'i' of  lioats  (if  tlu' lIudsDii'.t  Kay  ( 'niiipaiiy,  witii  sev- 
eral eiiief  trailer.-t  and  Jesuit  prieslM,  on  tln'lr  way  to  tlio  interior  of  the  eoiinlry, 
arrived.  Wliile  at  dinner,  tlie  overland  express  from  Canada  arrived,  brin^rinn  news 
that  llie  eniiirnilion  from  the  Ited  Kiver  settlement  was  at  Colvilie.  'I'liis  news 
exrited  iini\ers!d  joy  anionn  tlie  nuests.  One  of  them,  a  xounjr  prirsi  san;::  :>nt: 
■'  Uurrali  fur  Oregon,  .Vmeriea  is  too  late;  we  liave  ^ol  the  eoi!  iry  I"  "  Now  the 
Ainerieans  may  wliistle;  tlie  country  is  ours!''  said  anotlier.  Whitman  learned 
tluit  the  eonuiany  had  arranjjed  for  these  Red  River  Kiijfli'^lt  setOcrM  to  eome  on  to 
si'llle  in  Oi'etfon,  and  at  the  same  time  ({overnor  Simpson  was  lo  ^fo  in  WasliinKton 
and  seenre  the  seUlemeiit  of  the  ipiestion  as  to  the  iMUiiidarles,  on  llie  urmind  of  llie 
most  nnmerons  ani^perniai. .  nt  settlement  in  the  eiaintry.  The  Doeior  was  taunted 
with  Ihe  idea  tluit  no  power  could  prevent  this  resint,  as  no  information  eoidd 
reach  Washlnirton  in  liiiieto  prevent  it.  "  ff  h/hi//  fii  jirrn  nli  <l,"  said  the  Doctor, 
"  //"  /  /I'irt  /i)  i/ii  III  Wnslihiiilim  itii/m  /t'."  "  Hut  yo'.i  can  not  ko  tliere  to  do  it,"  was 
the  taunting  ''ciily  of  the  llriton,  "/  will  «r»,"  was  Ihe  Doctor's  reply.  Tlie  r«'ader 
is  HUlMcleiitly  ac(pialnted  with  the  history  nf  this  nntn's  toil  and  lahor  in  iMinKlng 
his  first  wajroii  throuiih  to  l"'ort  Roise,  to  understand  what  he  meant  wh 'ii  lu' said, 
" /  iri/l Mcf."  Two  hours  after  tills  conversation  at  the  fort,  he  disuhiuntcd  from  his 
horse  at  his  door  at  Waiilatpu.  I  saw  ie.  •.  momt'iit  that  he  was  llxed  on  some  Im- 
portant ohject  or  crranii.  He  soon  explained  that  a  special  ell'ort  must  lie  made  to 
save  the  country  from  hecomitiK  Rrlllsli  territory.  KverythitiK  was  in  llie  best  of 
ord'T  ahout  the  station,  and  lliere  seemed  tu  he  no  important  reason  why  he  should 
nut  gu.    A.  L.  Lovejuy,  LtKp,  bud  u  I'utv  duyii  bofuK  arrivtiu  with  this  immlgralioQ. 


•26« 


HISTOUY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLFT. 


It  wa.«  projjosod  that  lie  should  accompany  the  Doctor,  which  he  consented  to  do, 
and  in  twenty-four  hours'  time  they  were  well  mounted  and  on  their  way  ro  the 
?5tate8. 


Tlioiigli  its  iiu'lodramiitic  style  at  once  stamps  it  jw  a  piece  of 
fiction,  it  is  a.s  well  to  point  out  the  certain  evidences  of  its  inac- 
curacy. Fii-st — The  K('(l  River  eniii^ration  came  in  fhe  yi'ar  be- 
fore, jis  has  ali'eatly  l>ecn  related,  and  there  were  n<i  emiirrants  fi'oiii 
that  region  in  1H4l\  Second — Ai'chil)ald  MeKiiday,  thf  gentleman 
in  charge  of  Fort  Walla  Walla  and  a  warm  per>i»iial  friend  of  Dr. 
Whitman,  not  only  indignantly  denies  tjie  iiii[>utation  that  he  would 
permit  him  to  he  thus  insulted  while  his  guest,  hut  states  that  there 
wa.s  n<»  i>ne  at  the  fort  at  the  time  of  the  visit  referred  to  exc<'pt  tht- 
half  dozen  regular  attaches,  and  that  the  Montreal  t'.\]»re»  did  not 
arrive  until  two  weeks  after  Whitmaifs  departun-  for  the  East. 
durinir  «hich  time  Mrs.  Whitman  was  a  guest  at  tjif  fort,  jirocccil- 
ing  to  \'aiicoii\.T  lUKJer  the  protection  of  the  c.vpn-ss  l»rigade. 
Thin! — ^^  lii'iuairs  resohition  to  go  East,  as  has  l»ccn  amply  shown 
alK>ve,  wa>  not  a  suddcidy  conceived  one,  as  (iray  as-s^-rts,  hut  was 
the  rt^uU  »)f  long  consideratiim  and  dchherate  th*cisiou,  the  e.xact 
•lay  having  heen  fi.xed  for  his  depai'ture  prior  to  this  visit  to  Walla 
Walla,  as  (ii-ay  must  have  V'\(>wn,  since  he  hnu  pjirticipatcd  in  the 
meeting  at  Waiila]>tu.  No  news  had  come  overland  from  the  Kast 
e.\c«'pt  such  as  the  Amei'ican  emigrants  had  hroughl,  and  of  thi> 
Whitman  was  thoroughly  informed  before  he  went  to  Walla  Walla. 
To  iiUH't  this  objection  the  adherents  to  Gray's  veision  have  of  late 
dropptnl  the  Canada  express,  and  put  the  intelligence  which  created 
Mich  a  scene  of  joy  in  the  mouths  of  the  brigade  referred  to  as  goiiiLf 
U[i  the  river;  but  they  omit  to  state  from  what  s.iurce  this  jtarty 
derivnl  its  gratifying  iid'ormation.  Some  of  them  ai'e  also  eipially 
as  reckless  as  the  author  of  the  fiction  in  the  line  of  attempting  to 
relate  the  exact  language  employed  by  Whitman  and  the  enthusi- 
sia.stic  I^.riton.  It  is  needless  to  remark  tliat  they  all  succee<l  in 
placing  different  w(U'ds  in  the  mouths  of  the  principal  actors  in  the 
scene  portrayed.  Let  us  icturn  to  the  <lonuiin  of  facts.  Whitman 
«lid  }»ay  a  visit  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  his  obj«'ct  in  doing  so  being 
variously  stated  l»y  persons  then  at  Waiilatj)U.  Some  say  that  he 
went  a.s  a  physician  to  render  professional  service  to  a  sick  jhmsoii; 
but  Dr.  Gtiger,  wh<j,  at  the  lequest  of  Whitman,  had  con.sented  to 


UK.   WHITMAN  AND  THE  EMIOUATION  OF  FORTY-THKKK. 


269 


it'inain  ill  cliargf  of  tlit  mission  during  the  D(x*tor\s  al)sinice  iu  the 
East,  states  that  it  was  to  interview  his  friend  MeKinhis'  in  regard 
to  the  situation.  Nothing  reinarkalih'  oeeurred,  hut  the  visit  whet- 
ted Whitman's  an.xiety  to  (U'))art,  and  as  the  i)a])ers  from  Lapwai 
and  Tshimikain  had  been  reeeived,  he  (hnM(h'il  to  start  at  once  and 
not  wait  until  the  thiy  previously  decided  upon,  thus  saving  two 
(lavs  jit  the  l)e«;iiinintr  <»f  his  journev.  On  the  third  of  <  )ctol>er, 
1S42,  Whitman  and  Lovejoy  turned  their  harks  ujnm  Oregon  and 
entere<l  holdly  upon  a  journey  they  knew  would  he  attended  with 
liardshij)s  and  suffering  such  as  they  had  never  lu'fore  e.\j»erieiiced. 
The  only  records  of  this  memora hie  journey  are  a  lettei-  hy  Mr.  Love- 
joy  detailing  the  incidents  of  the  trip  across  the  mountains,  and  de- 
tadied  jind  fi'agnieiitai'y  statements  hy  several  gentlemen  who  clain.i 
to  lia\  iversed  with  Whitman  on  the  suhject,  hy  emigrants  who 

saw  him  in  the  train  in  l>ih'{,  and  liy  several  parties  who  saw  him 
ill  the  Kast,  at  St.  L<uns,  Washington  and  Boston.  From  the  nohle 
martyr  himself  there  comes  no  word,  save  a  letter  written  while  at 
St.  r.ouis  thc'following  spring,  Avliich  incontestahly  estahlishes  the 
fact  that  he  wa>  doing  his  utmost  to  [)romote  a  huge  emigration 
and  to  he  of  [)ersonal  assistance  to  the  emigrants.  From  these  are 
gleaned  *]u  following  facts,  ones  which  no  reasonahle  person  will 
dispute.     Of  that  memorahle  journey  liovejoy's  letter  says: — 

We  left  Wiiiilatpu  October  .'{,  181L',  truvcltd  rapidly,  reached  Fort  Hull  in  cloven 
•  lays;  rciuainoii  two  days  to  recruit  an<i  make  a  few  purcluweH.  The  Doctor  cMKiitri'd 
II  nuiilc  and  we  li  It  lor  Fort  Wintee.  We  cliaiiKcd  from  a  direct  route  to  one  more 
soiiliicrii,  tlii'oiiKli  llic  Spanish  cdunlry  via  Salt  Lal^e,  Taos  and  Santa  Fc.  On  our 
way  from  I"'orl  Hail  to  l-'ort  Wintcc  \vc  liad  tcrrihly  severe  wcallicr.  Tlie  snows 
rctardiMl  our  progress  and  lilindcd  tlie  trail  so  we  lost  imich  time.  After  arriving  at 
l'"orl  Wintee  and  nuiliinK  some  purcliascs  for  our  trip,  we  took  a  new  guide  and 
started  for  l"'ort  Incnnipagra,  situated  on  tlie  waters  uf  (irand  Hivcr,  in  the  Spanish 
I'otinlry.  Here  our  stay  was  very  short.  Wt;  took  a  ni'w  guide  an<l  started  lor  TaoH. 
After  lieing  out  some  four  or  live  days  we  encountered  a  terrilic  snow  storm,  which 
forced  us  to  take  siieller  in  a  lU-e;)  raviiu",  where  we  reinaine<l  siiowetl  in  for  four 
days,  at  which  time  llie  storm  had  somewhat  aliated,  and  we  attempted  to  nuike 
oiM' way  out  upon  high  lands,  hut  tlu' snow  was  so  deep  an<!  the  winds  so  piercinf< 
and  cold  we  were  compelled  to  return  to  camp  and  wait  a  few  days  for  a  change  of 
weather.  Our  nt'.xt  eflort  to  reach  the  high  lamis  was  more  iccessful ;  hut  after 
spending  several  days  wandering  arouiui  in  the  snow  witlwMit  making  much  head- 
way, our  guide  toid  us  tliat  the  deep  snow  had  so  changed  the  face  of  the  country 
that  lu'  was  complcti'ly  lost  and  couhl  take  us  no  further.  This  was  a  terrilile  hlow 
1(1  the  Doctor,  hut  he  was  determ.i  "i  m)t  to  give  it  up  without  another  efloit.  We 
at  once  agreed  that  the  Doctor  should  take  the  guide  and  return  to  Fort  I'Dcumpagra 
and  get  a  new  guide,  and  I  renudn  in  cam|i  w  '.U  the  aninuds  until  he  could  return  ; 
which  he  did  in  seven  days  with  our  new  guide,  und  we  were  now  ou  our  routts 


-Si 


270 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


ncnin.  Xotliinjr  of  much  import  occurred  but  hard  and  slow  traveling  through 
di'fp  snow  until  we  reached  (inmd  River,  which  was  frozen  on  eitlier  fide  alx)ut 
oue-tliird  across.  AltlioiiKh  so  iiiteUMely  cold,  the  current  was  so  very  rapid  aliout 
one-tliird  of  the  river  in  the  center  was  not  frozen.  Our  >ruide  thought  it  would  be 
danir-rous  to  attfinpt  to  cross  the  river  in  its  present  condition,  luit  the  Doctor, 
notliiu'j;  daunlrd.  was  tlic  first  to  tulie  the  water.  He  mounted  his  liorse;  thcguiile 
and  myself  slmved  tlie  Doctor  ami  liis  liorse  oil"  tlic  ice  into  the  foaming  stream. 
Away  he  went,  i-ompictely  under  water,  liorse  ami  all,  Imt  directly  came  up,  and 
after  (lutlrtim;  the  rapid,  foaming'  current,  he  reached  the  ice  on  the  opposite  shore, 
•I  lomi  way  down  the  stream.  He  leaped  from  his  liorse  upon  the  ice  ami  snon  had 
his  iiolilf  animal  by  his  side.  The  guide  and  myself  forced  in  the  pack  animals 
and  fiilloweil  the  Doctor's  example,  and  wen-  soon  on  the  opi)<isite  shore  drylnR 
our  fni/cn  clothes  by  a  comfortable  lire.  We  reached  Tao»  i:i  al)out  thirty  days, 
siill'i  rinyr^'rcally  iVom  cold  and  scarcity  of  provisions.  We  were  compelled  to  use  mule 
meat,  (lii;.'s  and  >iich  oilnr  animals  as  came  in  our  reach.  We  remained  at  Tcosafew 
days  iiiily.  anil  started  for  ISent's  and  Savery's  Kcrt,  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Arkansas  Illver.  When  we  had  been  out  some  fifteen  or  twenty  days,  we  met 
(icorRc  llcnt.  a  l>nitlurof  (Jovernor  Hent,  on  his  way  to  Taos.  He  fold  us  that  a 
party  of  luiuintaiu  men  would  leave  Hent's  Korf  in  a  few  days  for  St.  Louis,  but 
said  wc  would  not  reai-li  the  fort  with  our  pack  animals  in  time  to  Jolei  the  party. 
The  Doctor  beiiiij  very  anxlou>  to  join  tlie  party  so  he  cnnid  push  on  as  rapidly  a» 
possible  to  Wa-hiiiirton.  <-oncUuled  to  leave  myself  and  the  ^:uide  with  the  n'.dmals, 
and  he  himself  taking  the  best  animal  with  some  bedding  and  a  small  allowance 
of  jirovisiuiis,  started  alone,  hoping  by  rapid  traveling  to  reach  the  f.irt  in  time  to 
join  tlie  St.  Louis  party,  but  to  do  so  he  would  have  to  travel  on  the  .Sabbath,  some- 
thing 111'  had  nut  done  before.  Myself  and  the  guide  traveled  on  slowly,  and  reached 
the  fort  In  four  days,  but  imagine  our  astonishment  when  on  making  incpilry  alniut 
the  Doctor  we  wi-re  told  that  he  had  not  arrived  nor  had  he  luen  heard  of.  I 
learncil  that  the  party  for  ."^t.  Louis  was  ciimped  at  the  Dig  t'oitonwood,  forty  ndles 
from  the  fort,  ami  at  my  re(|iiest  Mr.  Sa\ery  .sent  an  exj)rcss,  telling  the  party  not 
to  proctH'd  any  further  until  we  learned  sonu'thing  of  Dr.  Whitman's  whereabouts, 
as  he  wished  to  accompany  them  to  St.  Lonis.  }!eing  furni.-'lied  liy  the  gentlemen 
of  the  fort  with  a  sidtalile  gui<l<  I  started  in  search  of  the  Doctor,  and  tr.iveled 
up  the  river  about  one  iiundicd  .niles.  I  learned  from  the  Indians  that  a  man  had 
been  there  who  waH  hist  and  was  trying  to  find  Kent's  Fort.  They  said  they  had 
directed  him  to  go  down  the  river  and  how  to  find  the  fort.  I  knew  from  their 
description  it  was  the  Doctor.  I  return-d  to  the  fori  iis  rapidly  a.s  |h)ssiIiIc,  but  the 
Doctor  had  not  arrived.  We  had  all  become  very  anxious  abont  l.i'n.  Late  in  the 
aflcrmion  In  came  in  very  much  fatigued  and  liesponding;  said  tlial  he  knew  that 
(lod  had  bewildered  him  to  punish  him  for  traveling  on  the  >Subbath.  During  the 
whole  trip  he  was  very  regular  in  his  morning  and  evening  devotions,  and  that 
was  the  only  lime  I  ever  knew  him  to  travel  on  tlu'  .Sabliatb. 

Whit  mail  at  <hk'<»  pu.slicd  on  with  the  iiioiMituiii('t'i>,  U'aviii<; 
Lovejoy  at  Bent's  Fort,  and  iviu'hed  St.  LoiiiH  in  Fchruaiv.  Tht-n' 
he  iiKinircd  «'a<;<Tly  altont  the  status  of  nejrotiationH  on  th*-  ('  «'gon 
Question,  and  learned  that  the  Ashlnifton  \\'<'l»ster  tn  ;tty  had  la-eii 
signed  on  the  ninth  of  the  ])ree('ding  AugUHt,  Keen  rtititie*!  I»y  the 
S<'iiate,  and  had  l>e<'n  pi'oehiiined  liy  the  Presi<h'nt  (»n  the  tenth  of 
Novendier.  He  was  too  htte  hy  more  thtm  thi."  months  t4>  have 
prevented  the  treaty;   Vtut  his  journey  was  not  iu  vain,  for  the 


DR.  WHITMAN  AND  THE  KMIORATION  OF   FOPIY-THUKE. 


271 


Oregon  boundary  had  not  been  included  in  the  treaty,  had  not  even 
l)een  discussed,  in  fact,  as  ajjpeai-s  from  Mr.  ^^'el)ster's  speeches  and 
correspondence.  This  intellig«'nce  lirought  relief  to  tiie  Doctor's 
overwrought  feelings.  There  was  still  an  opportunity  for  him  to 
accomplish  his  purpose.  He  found  great  preparations  lu-ing  made  all 
along  the  fnmtiev  to  emigi'ate  to  the  Willauiiette  ^'iillev,  as  has  heen 
previously  shown,  notwithstanding  the  prevailing  opinion  that 
wagons  ct)uM  not  proceed  ]»eyond  Fort  Hall.  He  inuiiediately 
wrote  a  small  pamphlet  descril»ing  Oregon  an<l  the  nature  of  the 
I'oute  thither,  urging  the  people  to  emigrate  and  Jtssuring  them  that 
wag<»ns  c<»uld  go  through,  and  that  he  would  join  them  and  he  their 
]tilot.  Tills  pamjddet  and  his  e-iruest  personal  »pp;.iis  were  etHca- 
cious  in  adding  somewhat  to  the  nund»er  «»f  e.iiigi'aiits,  though  it  is 
a  fact  that  probably  the  greater  portion  of  those  who  startecl  from 
the  bolder  of  Missouri  in  May  never  heard  of  Dr.  Whitman  until 
he  joined  them  on  the  route.  That  Whitman's  etTorts  added  some- 
what to  the  number  of  emigrants  is  true,  but  that  he  initiated  the 
movement,  or  even  ct)ntributetl  largely  to  it,  does  lUst  ai)-»','ar.  lie 
was  too  late  for  that;  the  movement  was  well  under  way  before  his 
arrival. 

After  writing  his  pamphlet  his  next  anxiety  wjim  to  reach  Wash- 
ington before  Congress  adjourned,  so  that  he  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  meet  Congressmen  and  urge  upon  them  the  di.ims  of 
Oregon.  He  did  nt)t  undertake  to  change  his  app.vrel,  which  is 
thus  desi-ribed  by  Dr.  William  Harrows,  who  met  him  in  St.  I^ouis: 
"The  Doctor  was  in  coarse  fur  garments  and  vesting,  and  buckskin 
l)reeches.  Me  wore  a  buffah)  coat,  with  a  head-hood  lor  emergen- 
cies in  taking  a  storm  or  a  bivouac  nap.  What  with  lu-avy  fur 
leggins  and  boot  moccasins,  his  legs  filltHJ  up  well  his  Mexiian  stir- 
rups. With  all  this  warmtli  and  almost  burden  of  skin  and  fur 
clothing,  he  V)ore  the  marks  of  the  irresistible  ((dd  and  men-iless 
storms  of  his  journey.  His  fingers,  t-ars,  nose  and  fe«t  had  been 
fiosr-bitten,  and  were  giving  him  much  tr<»ul)le." 

SucJi  was  NN'hitman  in  St.  l,oui>,  and  such  was  he  on  the  third 
t>f  March  wlien  he  appeare«l  in  Washington,  having  previously 
visited  Ithica,  New  York,  to  obtain  tlie  co-operation  of  Dr.  Sanuiel 
Parker,  his  lirst  missionary  associate,  and  still  later  in  Boston,  where 
lie  treated  the  rebukes  of  the  ()tfiiials  of  t\w  American   Board  with 


1 11 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


a  ([iiu't  (•(•iitcinpt  that  astonished  them,  lie  found  the  ideas  of 
Oregon  prevailing  at  Wasliington  to  be  far  different  from  those  ex- 
istinm>n  the  frontier.  Public  men  possessed  but  a  faint  idea  of  the 
extent  and  natui'c  of  tlie  vast  area  beyond  the  Koeky  Mountains, 
deeming  it  a  region  of  sterile  soil  and  iidio><[)itable  climate.  Since 
Lewis  and  Clarke  had  subsisted  upon  dog  meat,  and  Hunt's  party 
had  enduied  such  terrible  privations  in  passing  through  it,  the 
countrv  lying  between  the  C^iseades  and  l{<icky  Mountains  li:id  been 
known  as  the"(«reat  ^Vmerican  Desert,'' and  deemed  fit  only  for 
the  alxxle  of  migratory  trappers  and  famine-afHieted  savages.  A 
year  later,  during  a  discussion  of  the  Oregon  (.^)uestion  in  Congress, 
a  speakei'  atlvanced  this  ich'a  in  the  following  langtmgc:  "  With 
the  exception  (»f  the  land  along  the  Willamette  and  along  a  few  of 
the  water  courses,  the  whole  ci)unti'y  is  among  tlie  most  irreclaima- 
bh".  barren  wastes  of  which  we  have  read,  except  the  desert  of  Sa- 
hara. Xor  is  this  the  worst  of  it— the  climate  is  so  unfriendly  to 
human  life  that  the  native  po])ulation  Inis  dwindled  away  under 
the  ravagi's  of  its  malaria  to  a  degree  which  defies  all  history  to 
furnish  a  parallel  in  so  wide  a  ninge  of  country."  To  demonstrate 
th<^  error  of  this  idea,  and  that  Oreg(»n  could  be  jtopulated  by  emi- 
gration from  the  Kast,  was  Whitman's  task.  He  h,id  numerous  in- 
tervievvs  with  pulilic  men,  including  l*resi<lent  Tyler  and  Secretary 
Webster,  in  which  he  urged  upon  them  the  imjiortance  of  securing 
as  niucli  of  that  indefinite  region  known  as  "()regon"  as  possible, 
declaring  thiit,  so  far  was  it  from  being  a  sfi  rile  waste,  its  agricul 
tural  and  timbei-  resources  were  unbounded.  He  called  (heir  atten- 
tion to  the  large  emigration  already  j)reparing,  and  confidently  de- 
clare(l  that  he  was  able  to,  and  would,  guide  them  thioiigh  by  a 
route  over  which  wagons  could  travel  to  the  Willamette.  His 
earnest  pi'otestations  matle  a  deep  impression  tipoji  many,  especially 
President  Tyler,  and  he  was  assured  that  if  he  coulil  thus  demon- 
strate the  practicability  of  colonizing  Oregon  by  emigration  across 
tlie  Kocky  Mountiiins,  it  would  have  a  powerful  effect  ujxm  the 
sohition  of  the  vexed  Oregon  (.Question.  The  same  v\riters,  whose 
tendency  toward  romancing  has  fieen  pointed  (»ut  above,  have 
allowed  their  imaginations  t()o  much  liberty  in  their  relation  of  tlu' 
incidents  connected  with  Whitnum  -.  visit  to  Washington.  Nothing 
more  is  kuowu  (if  what  occurreii  tbeic  than  the  crude  facts  just  re- 


DR.  WHITMAN  AND  TITE  EMIGRATION  OF  FORTY-THREE. 


273 


lated ;  and  yet  these  writers  undertake  to  state  the  exact  lansiifuage 
employed  by  Dr.  Whitman,  Presi(hnt  Tyler,  Secretary  AVebster, 
and  others.  Those  words  were  never  recorded,  nor  do  these  writers 
lay  claim  to  direct  information  from  the  men  who  uttered  them,  and 
common  regard  for  the  purity  of  histoi'ical  statement**  shouhl  cause 
them  to  refrain  from  any  such  clairvoyant  efforts. 

When  Whitman  had  accomplished  the  main  object  of  his  journey 
at  Washington,  he  proceeded  to  Boston  to  attend  to  tlu;  official 
business  which  had  been  the  ostensible  cause  of  his  visit.  This  was 
so  unimportant  that  the  officers  of  the  Board  rebuked  him  for  leav- 
ing his  mission  upon  such  a  trivial  pretext;  but  he  shamecl  them 
into  silence  by  ti'eating  their  officious  cliidings  with  lofty  contempt. 
He  then  proceeded  to  his  home,  and,  after  spending  a  few  days 
there,  hastened  to  the  frontier  to  join  the  emigrants,  sonic  <;'  whom 
had  already  started  and  whom  he  did  not  overtake  until  they  had 
reached  the  Platte,  his  apj)earance  among  them  at  tluit  time  being 
the  first  knowledge  a  nuijority  of  them  had  that  such  a  in.-iu  a-s  Dr. 
Whitman  was  in  existence.  The  circumstances  attending  the  final 
starting  of  the  emigrants,  are  thus  related  by  Gen.  .1.  W.  Nesinith: — 

Without  orders  fi-oni  nny  ()Uiirti>r,  iinil  without  iirt'concert,  promptly  as  tlic  grass 
tjegan  to  sturt,  the  emigrants  bofi^an  to  nssentble  near  Indepeiideiu'e,  at  a  place 
called  Fltzhnirh's  Mill.  On  the  seventeenth  day  of  May,  184.'{,  noticeH  wereeinulated 
through  the  dilferent  eneiinipnients  that  on  the  sueeeedin^t  day,  those  v  ho  lontein- 
piated  einif^ratinn  to  Orej^on,  would  meet  at  a  deHJjrnated  point  to  oriranlze. 
I'roinptly  at  theappoiiitid  hourthe  nii.iey  Krouima»Hen\l)led.  They  eon»l»*le<l  of  peo- 
ple from  all  the  States  and  Terr'tories,  and  nearly  all  nidionalitles  ;  the  most,  how- 
ever, from  Arkansas,  III  iiois,  Missouri  ai\d  Iowa,  and  all  f  anjfers  to  one  another, 
l»ul  impressed  with  som.' crude  idea  that  there  existed  an  imp»'rative  necessily  for 
some  kind  of  an  orcn-iization  for  nuitual  proti'etion  ajtalnst  the  hostile  Im'ians 
inhahitinK  the  urreat  unknown  wilderness  strelchlnj?  away  to  the  shores  of  the 
Paeltlc,  and  which  they  were  aliont  to  traverse  with  their  wives  and  children, 
household  tjoods,  an<l  all  their  earthly  posst  •sions. 

Many  of  the  endKrants  were  from  the  wislern  tier  of  counties  of  Missouri, 
known  as  the  Platte  Purchase,  and  anionjr  them  was  Peter  II.  lUirnett,  a  former 
i.'ierchant,  who  had  abandoned  the  yird-sti<k  and  bcconu'  a  lawyer  of  some  celei)- 
rity  tVir  his  ability  IIS  a  smoolh-tonnued  advocate.  He  subseiiuenlly  emigrated  to 
("aliforniw.  i»nd  was  elected  the  llrst  (tovernor  of  the  (ioldcn  State,  was  afterward 
Chief  Justlee,  and  still  an  honored  resident  of  that  State.  Mr.  Hurnett,  or  as  he 
was  (kmiliarly  designated,  "  Pete,"  was  called  ujion  for  a  speech.  Mounting  a  log, 
the  tflib-tonstued  orator  delivered  a  glowiiin,  florid  address.  He  commenced  by 
ithowlnit  Ills  audience  that  ihe  then  western  tier  of  Slates  and  Territories  was  over- 
er<'wd»Hl  .vith  a  redundant  population,  who  had  not  suflici(>nt  elbow  room  for  the 
expansion  of  their  enterprise  and  genius,  and  it  was  a  duty  they  owed  to  them- 
selves and  |K>sterlty  t<>  strike  out  in  search  of  n  more  expanded  fluid  and  more 
genial  eliiuate,  where  the  soil  yielded  the  richest  return  for  the  slightest  amount  of 


274 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


cultivation,  where  the  trees  were  loaded  with  perennial  fruit,  and  where  a  good  sub- 
Btitiite  for  hreatl,  calltMl  La  Cfimnnh,  grew  in  the  ground,  salmon  and  other  fish 
iTowded  tlif  HtreaniH,  and  where  the  ])rini>i|)al  labor  of  the  settler  would  be  contlned 
to  keeping  their  jrardeiis  free  from  the  inroads  of  bufTalo,  elk,  deer  and  wild  turkeys. 
He  iipjx'aled  to  our  patriotism  by  pieturing  forth  the  glorious  empire  we  would 
eHtaltlish  on  the  ^liores  of  the  I'aeifle.  How,  with  our  trusty  ritlen,  we  would  drive 
out  the  British  usurpers  who  elaimed  the  soil,  anil  defend  the  country  from  the 
avarice  and  pretensions  «)f  the  Hritish  lion,  and  how  posterity  would  honor  us  for 
placing  the  f:iir(>st  portion  of  our  land  under  the  dominion  of  the  stars  and  stripes. 
He  concludeil  with  a  slight  allusion  to  the  trials  and  hardships  incident  to  the  trip, 
and  dangers  to  be  encountered  from  hostile  Indians  on  the  route,  and  those  inhabit- 
ing the  country  whither  we  were  bound.  He  furthermore  intimated  a  desire  to 
look  upon  the  tribe  of  noble  "red  men"  that  the  valiant  and  well-armed  crowd 
around  him  could  not  vanquisli  in  a  single  encounter. 

Other  siH'cches  were  made,  full  of  glowing  descriptions  of  the  fair  land  of  prom- 
ise, the  far-away  Oregon,  which  no  one  in  the  a.ssemblage  had  ever  seen,  and  of 
which  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  had  ever  rea<l  any  account.  After  the  election  of 
Mr.  Burnett  as  ca|)tain,  and  other  necessary  ofllcers,  the  meeting,  as  motley  and 
])rimitive  a  one  as  ever  assembled,  adjourned,  with  "three  cheers"  for  Captain 
Burnett  and  Oregon.  On  the  2  ith  day  of  May,  1813,  after  a  pretty  thorough  mili- 
tary organization,  we  took  up  our  line  of  march,  with  Captain  John  Oantt,  an  old 
army  ofTlcer,  who  coml)ini'd  the  character  of  trapper  and  mountaineer,  as  our  guide, 
(fantt  had  in  his  wanderings  lieen  as  far  as  Green  River,  and  a.ssured  us  of  the 
Iiracticability  of  a  wagon  road  thus  far.  Green  River,  the  extent  of  our  guide's 
knowledge  in  that  direction,  was  not  half-way  to  the  Willamette  Valley,  the  then 
only  inhabited  portion  of  Oregon.  Beycmd  that  we  had  not  the  slightest  conject- 
ure of  the  condition  of  the  country.  We  wont  forth  trusting  to  the  future,  and 
would  doubtless  have  encountered  more  ditltcultics  than  we  experienceil  had  not 
Dr.  Whitman  overtaken  us  l)efore  we  reached  the  terminus  of  our  guiile's  kiu)wl- 
edge.  He  was  familiar  with  the  whole  route  and  was  confident  that  wagt.ns  could 
piu*s  through  the  canyons  and  gorges  of  Snake  River  and  over  the  Blue  Mountains, 
which  the  mountaineers  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Hall  declared  to  be  a  physical 
impossibility. 

Captain  Grant,  then  in  charge  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  Fort  Hall, 
endeavored  to  dissuade  us  fr<>!n  proceeding  further  with  our  wagons,  and  showed 
us  the  wagons  that  the  emigrants  of  the  preceding  year  bad  abandoned,  as  an  evi- 
dence of  the  impracticability  of  our  determination.  Dr.  Whitman  was  persistent 
in  his  assertions  that  wagons  could  proceed  a.-«  far  as  the  Grand  Dalles  of  the  Colum- 
bia River,  from  which  point  he  asserted  they  could  be  taken  down  by  raffs  or 
liatteaux  to  the  Willanii'tte  Valley,  while  our  stock  could  l)e  driven  by  an  Indian 
trail  over  the  Cascade  Mountains,  near  Mount  Hood.  Happily  Wliitnum's  ad- 
vice prevailed,  and  a  large  number  of  the  wagons  with  a  portion  of  the  B^(H!|t, 
did  reach  Walln  Walla  and  The  Dalles,  from  which  points  they  were  takcti  l(t  llili 
Willamette  till  following  year.  Hiul  we  followed  Grant's  advice  and  abanibuicd 
the  cattle  and  ^^agons  at  Fort  Hall,  much  siifli  ring  must  have  ensued,  as  a  siilllcient 
number  of  horses  to  carry  the  women  and  ebildnn  of  the  party  could  not  have 
been  olttained,  liesides  wagons  and  cattle  were  Intllspcnsable  tx)  nuM>  expecting  to 
live  by  farminu  in  a  country  destitute  of  such  articles. 

At  Fort  Mall  we  fell  in  with  sonu;  C'ayuse  anil  Nez  Perce  Indians  returning 
from  the  bullalo  country,  and  as  it  was  necessary  for  Dr.  Whitman  to  preiicde  us  to 
Walla  Walla,  he  recorameniled  to  us  a  guide  In  tlie  person  of  an  old  Cayuse  Indian 
called  "Htlccus."  He  was  a  lallbful  old  fellow,  perfectly  familiar  with  all  the  trails 
and  topography  of  the  ouuntry  from  Fort  Uali  tu  Tbu  Dallee,  and  although  not 


DR.  WHITMAN  AND  THK  EMIGRATION  OF  FOKTY-TIIIJEE. 


275 


speaking  a  word  of  EnKliHh,  and  no  one  in  our  party  a  word  of  Cuyuse,  lie  huc- 
ceeded  by  pantomime  in  talcing  us  over  tlie  rougliest  wagon  route  I  ever  huw. 

This  is  a  glowing  tribute  to  the  energy,  determination  and  patri- 
otic zeal  of  the  one  man  to  whom  is  due  the  lionor  of  clearly  demon- 
strating to  the  world  the  often-denied  fact  that  tliere  was  a  practicable 
route  into  Oregon  for  the  white-topi)ed  wagon  of  the  emigrant.  A 
score  of  other  intelligent  gentlemen  have  testified  to  the  same  effect, 
but  it  is  obviously  unnecessary  to  give  more  than  a  bare  mention 
of  the  fact. 

The  following  list  contains  the  names  of  every  male  member  of 
that  great  train  over  the  age  of  sixteen  yeare.  It  was  prepareil  by 
J.  W.  Nesmith  when  the  train  was  organized,  and  was  preserved 
among  his  papers  for  a  third  of  a  century  before  given  for  publica- 
tion. All  reached  the  Willamette  Valley,  except  a  few,  the  excep- 
tions being  designated  by  marks  and  foot  notes: — 

Applegate,  Jesse        BoHrdiiiun, * 

Appli'Knte,  Cliarles    BuldriilKo,  Wm. 
A|)pli'Kate,  Lindsay  Ciwon,  F.  V,. 


Atlu'y,  James 
Atlu'y,  Wiiliam 
Atkinson,  Jolin* 
Artiiur,  Wm. 
Artluir,  Roliert 
Artliur,  Duvid 
liutler,  Anion 
Hroolte,  George 
IJunu'tt,  I'etor  H. 
Itini,  Duvid 


CiiHon,  James 
('liapmiin,  Wm. 
Cox,  Jolin 
Cliamp,  Jacob 
Cooper,  li.  C 
Cone,  James 
Chiliiers,  Moses 
Carey,  Miles 
Cocliraii,  Tliomas 
Ciymour,  L. 


Dorin,  Jacob  Fowler,  Henry 

Davis,  'Jhomas  Fairly,  {Stephen 

Delany,  Daniel  Fendall,  Cliarlea 

Delany,  Daniel,  Jr.  Gantt,  John* 

Delany,  William  (Jray,  Chiley  B. 


Brown,  Thomas  \.    C()|)enl)aver,  John 
Blevins,  Alexander  Caton,  J.  II. 


Krooics,  John  I*. 
Mrown,  Martin 
IJiown,  Oris 
miicit,  J.  P. 
Iliine,  Layton 
Hal<er,  Andrew 
Halter,  John  G. 
lUagle,  William 
Boyd,  Levy 
Baker,  William 
Biddle,  Nleholast 
Beale,  George 
Braidy,  James 
Beadle,  George 


Chappel,  Alfred 
Cronin,  Daniel 
C?o/.ine,  Samuel 
Costal)le.  Benedict 
(;hildH,  Joseph* 
Clark,  Hansom 
Canipliell,  John  G. 

Chapman, 

Cliase,  James 
Dodd,  Solomon 
Dement,  Wm.  C. 
Dougherty,  W.  P. 
Day,  Williamt 
Duncan,  James 


Doke,  William 
Davis,  J.  H. 
Davis,  Burrell 
Dai  ley,  tJeorge 
Dolierty,  John 

Dawson, * 

Eaton,  ("hurles 
Eaton,  Natlian 
Etcliell,  James 
Emevick,  Solomon 
Eaker,  John  W. 
Edson,  E.  (i. 
Eyres,  Miiesf 
East,  Jtdin  W. 


Garrison,  Enoch 
Garrison,  J.  W. 
(Jurrison,  W.  J. 
(•ardiur,  Samuel 
Gardner,  Wm. 
(iilmore,  Mat, 
(idodman,  Hiehard 
Gilpin,  Major 

(Jray, 

Haggard,  B. 
Hide,  H.  H. 
Holnu's,  Wm. 
Holmes,  Uiley  A. 
Hol)son,  John 


Everman,  Niniwon  Hobson,  Wm- 
Ford,  Nineveli  Hemi)ree,  Andrew 

Fonl,  Ephriam  Hembree,  J.  J. 

Ford,  Nimrod  Hembree,  James 

Ford,  Jolin  Hembree,  A.  J. 

Francis,  Alexander:^  Hall,  Samuel  B. 
Frazier,  Al)ner  Houk,  James 

Frazier,  Wm  Hugiies,  Wm.  P. 

Fowler,  Wm.  Hendrick,  Aiiijah 

Fowler,  Wm.  J.         Hays,  James 


*  Turned  ofT  at  Fort  Uall  and  went  to  Callfornlu. 

t  Hied  on  the  route. 

t  Turned  back  »t  the  Platte. 


276 


HISTORY  OF  ISriLLAMETTB  VALLEY. 


Hensley,  Thomas  J.* 
Holley,  H. 
Hunt,  Hfiiry 
HoldtTiK'SH,  8.  M. 
Hiitohiiiu,  Ihuuc 
FIiiHted,  A. 
Hews,  Joseph 
Hhuii,  Jacob 
Howell,  John 
Howell,  Wni. 
Howell,  Wesley 
Howell,  (}.  W. 
Howell,  Tlionuu)  E. 
Hill,  Henry 
Hill,  William 
Hill,  Aliuoran 
Hewett  Henry 
Hargrove,  Wm. 
Hoyt,  A. 
Holman,  John 
Holnian,  Daniel 
HarriKtw,  B. 
James,  Calvin 
Jaekson,  John  U. 
Jones,  John 
Johnson,  Overton 
Keyser,  Thomas 
Keyser,  J.  M. 
Keyser,  Plasant 

Kelley, 

Kelsey, 

Lovejoy,  A.  Ij. 
Lenox,  PMwaril 
Lenox,  E. 
Lay  son,  Aaron 
Ijooney,  Jesso 
Lonjf,  John  E. 
Lee,  H.  A.  (}. 
LiiKur,  F4 
'  .nel>arKer,  Lew 
Linel)ar>^'.  •,  John 
[iaswell,  "saac 
LouKhl>oroiiKh,  J.t 
Little,  Milton* 
Luther, 


Lauderdale,  John 

MoOee, • 

Martin,  Wm.  J.» 
Martin,  James 
Martin,  Julius* 

MeClelland, • 

McClelland,  F.* 
Mills,  John  B. 
Mills,  Isiuie 
Mills,  Wm.  A. 
Mills,  Owen 
Mcdarey,  G.  W. 
Mondon,  (Jiiliert 
Matheny,  Daniel 
Matheny,  Adam 
Matheny,  J.  N. 
Matheny,  Josiah 
Matheny,  Henry 
^^ast^re,  A.  J. 
MeHaley,  John 
Myers,  Jacob 
Manning,  John 
Manning,  James 
McCarver,  M.  M. 
McCorele,  (Jeorge 
Mays,  William 
Millican,  Elijah 


Otie,  M.  B, 
O'Neil,  Bennett 
OlinKer,  A. 
Parker,  Jesse 
Parker,  William 
Pennington,  J.  B. 
Poe,  R.  H. 
Paynter,  Bamuel 
Patterson,  J.  R. 
Pickett,  Charles  E. 
PriKg,  Frederick 
Paine,  Claybornt 
Reading,  P.  B.» 
Rodders,  S.  P. 
Rodgers,  O.  W. 
Russell,  William 
Robertii,  James 
Rice,  O.  W. 
Richardson,  John 


Btevenaon, 

8tory,  James 

Swift, 

Hhively,  John  M. 
Bhirly,  Hanmel 
Htoughton,  Alex. 
Spencer,  Chancey 
Htrait,  Hiram 
Hummers,  George 
Stringer,  Cornelius 
Stringer,  C.  W.t 
Tharp,  Llndsey 
Thompson,  John 
Tralnor,  D. 
Teller,  Jeremiah 
Tarbox,  Stephen 
Umnicker,  John 
Vance,  Samuel 
Vaughn,  William 


Richardson,  Danielf  Vernon,  George 


Ruby,  Philip 
Ricord,  John 
Reid,  Jacob 
R(H',  John 
Rol)erts,  Solomon 
Roberts,  Emseley 
Rossin,  Joseph 


McDaniel,  William  Rivers,  Thomas 


M'Kissic,  D. 

Malono,  Madison 

McClane,  John  B. 

Mau/ce,  William 

Me  I  nf  ire,  John* 

Moore,  Jacksont 

Matnoy,  W.  J. 

N»'Hmitli,  J.  W. 

New  by,  W.  T. 

Newman,  Noah 

Naylor,  Thomas 

Osiiorn,  Nell 

O'Brien,  Hugh  D. 

O'Brien,  Humphrey  Sewell,  Henry 

Owen,  Thomas  A.     Stout,  Henry 

Owen,  Thomas  Sterling,  George 

OtIe,  E.  W.  Stout, 


Smith,  Thomas  H. 
Smith,  Thomas 
Smith,  Isaac  W. 
Smith,  Anderson 
Smith,  Ahi 
Smith,  Robert 
Smith,  Eli 
Siieldon,  William 
Stewart,  P.  G. 


Wllmont,  James 
Wilson,  Wm.  H. 
Wair.  J.  W. 
Winkle,  Archibald 
Williams,  Edward 
Wheeler,  H. 
Wagoner,  John 
Williams,  Beujumin 
Williams,  David 
Wilson,  Wm. 
Williams,  John* 
Williams,  James* 
Williams,  S(|Uire* 
Williams,  Isaac* 
Ward,  T.  B. 
White,  James 
Watson,  J  no.  (Betty) 


Sutton,  Dr.  Nathan'l  Waters,  James 


Stimmerman,  C. 
Sharp,  C. 
Summers,  W.  C. 


Winter,  Wm. 
Waldo,  Daniel 
Waldo,  David 
Waldo,  William 
Zachury,  Alexander 
Zochary,  John 


There  were  in  Oregon  at  the  time  the  train  arrived,  the  follow- 
ing individuals,  a  few  names,  possibly,  having  been  omitted  from 
the  list: — 


*  Turncci  oir  al  Fort  Hall  and  went  to  (JaMfornla. 

t  TMod  oil  the  route. 

!  Turntid  back  al  the  Platto. 


AMEKI0AN9  OROAKIZE  A  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 


277 


Ariustrong,  FleaHant  Ebbetts,  Hquire 


KuriiH,  Hugh 

UroM'H, 

Hrov/n,  Wlllliim 

Brown, 

Kluek,  J.  M. 

Haldro, 

HuUh,  Juines 
Rttlley,  Dr. 
Brnipcrd, 


EdwurdM.  John 
FoHtcr,  Phlllj) 
Force,  Jolin 
Force,  Janiet) 
Fletcljer,  Francis 
Guy,  Oeorge 
Oule  Joseph 

Girtman, 

Hathaway,  Felix 


LeBreton,  G,  W. 
LarriHon,  Jack 
Meek,  Joseph  L. 
Matthleu,  F.  X. 
McC'lure,  John 
MOHH,  H.  W. 
Moore,  Robert 

McFadden, 

Mc(Jarty,  William 
McKay,  Charles 


Crawford,  Medoreni  Hatch,  Peter  H 
Carter,  David 
Campbell,  Hunmel 
Campbell,  Jack 


KuiMell,  Osborn 
Robb,  J.  U. 
Shortess,  Robert 
Hmith,  Hidney 

Hmltli, 

Hmith,  Aiulrew 
Kmith,  Andrew,  Jr. 
Bmith,  Darling 

Hpence, 

.Sailor,  Jack 
Turnham,  Joel 


Craig,  Wm. 
Cook,  Amos 
Cook,  Aaron 

Connor, 

Cannon,  William 
Davy,  Allen 
Doty,  William 
Eakin,  Richard 


McKay,  Thomas 
nul)bard,  Thomas  J.  McKay,  William  C.  Turner,  John 

Hewitt,  Adam  Morrison, Taylor,  Hiram 

Horegon,  Jeremiah    Mack,  J.  W. 

Ilolman,  Joseph         Newl)anks, 

Hall,  David  Newell,  Robert 

Hoxhurst,  Weberly  O'Neil,  James  A. 

Plutchinson, Pettygrove,  F.  W. 

Johnson,  William      Pomeroy,  Dwight 

Pomeroy,  Walter 

Perry, 

Rimmick, 


King, 

Kelsey, 

Lewis,  Rculien 


Tll)betts,  Calvin 

Trusk, 

Walker,  C.  M. 
Warner,  Jack 
Wilson,  A.  E. 
Wlnslow,  David 
Wilkins,  Caleb 
W<K)d,  Henry 
Wiliiums,  B. 


In  addition  to  the  above  were  the  follovvinc;  ffentlenien 


con- 


nected with  the  various  Protestant  missions: 


Leslie,  David 
Parrisl>,  J.  L. 
Perkins,  H.  K.  W. 
Raymond,  H.  W. 
Spalding,  W.  H. 


Waller,  A.  F. 
Walker,  E. 
Wliitman,  Dr.  M. 
White,  Dr.  Elijah 
Willaon,  Wm.H. 


Abernethy,  George    Eells,  C 
Babeock,  Dr.  J.  L.    Gray,  W.  PL 
Beers,  Alanaon  Hines,  Ciustavus 

Brewer, Judson,  L.  H. 

Campbell,  Hamilton  Lee,  Jason 
Clurlt,  Harvey 

In  addition  to  these  were  some  fifty  former  employees  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  nearly  all  of  whom  had  settled  on  French 
Prairie,  and  a  number  of  priests  connected  with  the  Catholic 
mission,  making  a  total  male  population  at  the  close  of  the  year 
1843  of  about  four  hundred  and  thirty,  exclusive  of  the  officers  and 
actual  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Following  in  the  wake  >f  <he  emigrants  came  the  party  of  Lieu- 
tenant John  C.  Fremont,  who  l.'ad  explored  the  Rocky  Mountains 
the  year  before,  and  who  had  been  this  season  dispatched  by  the 
Government  upon  an  offiei.il  ':our  of  exploration  to  the  Pacific. 
After  spending  a  few  days  at  Vancouver,  he  pas.sed  soutli,  crossed 
the  Cascades  to  Eastern  Oregon,  continued-  south  into  Nevada,  and 
in  January,  1S44,  crossed  the  snowy  summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas 
to  Sutter's  Fort  in  Sacramento  Valley.  The  title  of  "Pathfinder" 
was  bestowed  upon  him,  though  he  was  guided  nearly  everywhere 


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278 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


by  mountain  men  who  were  familiar  with  the  country,  and  found 
the  route  to  Oregon  plainly  marked  by  the  emigrants'  wagon 
wheels.     On  this  subject  Mr.  Nesraith  says: — 

In  the  Eastern  States,  I  have  often  been  asked  how  long  it  was  after  Fremont 
discovered  Oregon  that  I  emigrated  there.  It  is  true  tliat  in  the  year  1843,  Fre- 
mont, then  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Engineer  Corps,  did  cross  tlie  plains,  and  brought 
his  party  to  The  Dalles,  and  visited  Vancouver  to  procure  supplies.  I  saw  him  on 
the  plains,  though  he  reached  The  Dalles  in  the  rear  of  our  emigration.  His  outfit 
contained  all  of  the  conveniences  and  luxuries  that  a  Government  appropriation 
could  procure,  while  he  "  rouglied  it "  in  a  covered  carriage,  surrounded  by  servants 
paid  from  the  public  purse.  He  returned  to  the  States  and  was  afterward  rewarded 
with  a  Presidential  nomination  as  the  "  Pathfinder."  Tlie  path  he  found  was  made 
by  the  hardy  frontiersmen  who  preceded  him  to  the  Pacifie,  and  who  stood  by  their 
rifles  here  and  held  the  country  against  hostile  Indian.-,  and  British  threats,  without 
Government  aid  or  recognition  until  1849,  when  the  first  Government  troops  came 
to  our  relief.  Yet  Fremont,  with  many  people,  \ma  the  credit  of  '•  finding  "  every- 
thing west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  I  suppose  his  pretensions  will  be  recog- 
nized by  the  future  historian,  while  the  deserving  men  who  made  the  path,  unaided 
by  GJovernment,  will  be  forgotten.     "And  such  is  history." 

Thus  close  the  events  of  1843,  leaving  Oregon  with  a  Provisional 
Government  and  a  population  of  intelligent,  earnest,  hardy  Ameri- 
can pioneers  sufficiently  great  to  determine  its  future  as  a  party  of 
4;he  great  Republic  whose  institutions  they  had  thus  planted  in  these 
remote  regions. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


1844  TO  1849. 


Indian  Difficulty  at  Oregon  City — First  Military  Company — Methodist 
Missions  Abandoned — Increase  of  the  Catholic  Workers — Election 
of  ISl^lf. — Abstract  of  Votes — Proceedings  of  the  Legislative  Com- 
mittee— Emigration  of  ISJ^J^ — List  of  Emigrants — Election  of  181fi 
— George  Abernethy  Chosen  First  Governor  of  Oregon — Abstract  of 
Votes — Oat?i  of  Office — Dr.  White  and  the  Memorial  to  Congress — 
Wheat  a  Legal  Tender — Census  of  181^5 — Emigration  of  ISJ^S — 
Meek  Takes  the  Emigrants  by  a  New  Route  and  Loses  Them  in  the 
Mountains — The  Eventful  Year  of  184-6 — Mr.  Blain.e's  Account  of 
the  Settlement  of  the  Oregon  Question — Election  of  181S — Emigra- 
tion of  18Jf.6 — The  Applegate  Trail — Flags  of  the  Schooner  ^^Shark  " 
— Emigration  of  18 Jp' — The  Traveling  Nursery — Elections  of  1847 
and  1848 — Emigration  of  184-8. 

THERE  was  trouble  in  the  Willamette  Valley  in  1844,  which 
served  to  ntill  more  embitter  the  Indians  against  the  Aiuericana. 
There  was  a  sub-chief  of  the  Molallas  named  "Cockstock,"  a  man 
of  independent  nature  and  belligerent  disposition.  He  had  a  few 
followers  who  partook  someAvhat  of  his  spirit,  and  they  were  gen- 
erally the  prime  movers  in  such  sn)all  hostile  acts  as  the  notives  of 
the  Willamette  indulged  in.  He  was  rebellious  of  restraint,  and 
not  friendly  to  the  encroachment  of  the  white  settlers.  A  relative 
of  his  having  mistreated  Mr.  Perkins  at  The  Dalles  Mission,  was 
sentenced  by  the  Wasco  tribe  to  be  punished  according  to  Dr. 
White's  laws.  The  sub-chief  was  enraged  at  the  whipping  his 
kinsman  had  received,  and  set  out  to  revenge  the  insult  upon  the 


I. 'I 

M 


S.M] 


280 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Indian  Agent.  Reaching  the  Agent's  AVillamette  home  during  his 
absence,  he  proceeded  to  break  every  window-pane  in  the  house. 
He  was  pursued,  but  not  caught,  and  became  an  object  of  terror  to 
the  Doctor.  All  depredations  committed  in  the  country  were 
charged  to  this  chief,  and  it  finally  resulted  in  the  offer  by  Dr. 
White  of  one  hundred  dollars'  reward  for  the  arrest  of  the  formid- 
able Indian.  Learning  that  he  was  being  accused  of  acts  commit- 
ted by  othei-s,  the  chief  visited  Oregon  City  March  4,  accompanied 
by  four  of  his  baud,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  having  a  talk  with 
the  whites  for  the  purpose  of  exculpating  himself.  He  entered  the 
town,  staid  for  about  an  hour,  and  then  crossed  the  river  to  visit  an 
Indian  village  to  procure  an  Indian  interpreter.  He  then  re-crossed 
the  Willamette,  when  several  men  undertook  to  arrest  liim,  and  a 
desperate  fight  ensued.  Cockstock  was  killed,  and  his  followers, 
after  fighting  valiantly  until  the  odds  became  too  great,  made  good 
their  escape.  On  the  other  side  George  W.  LeBreton  was  killed 
by  Cockstock,  and  Mr.  Rogers,  who  was  working  quietly  near  by, 
was  wounded  in  the  arm  by  a  poisoned  arrow,  which  caused  his 
death.  It  has  l)een  asserted  that  the  Molalla  chief  attacked  the 
town,  but  it  requires  too  much  credulity  to  believe  that  five  Indians 
would  in  broad  daylight  attack  a  town  containing  ten  times  their 
number.  The  whule  affair  is  chargeable  to  the  rash  conduct  of  a 
few  men  who  were  too  eager  to  gain  the  paltry  reward  offered  by 
Dr.  White,  one  of  whom  paid  for  his  cupidity  with  his  life.  Fear- 
ing that  trouble  might  follow,  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Provisional  Government  issued  a  proclamation  for  the  organization 
of  a  military  company.  A  company  was  organized  on  the  tenth 
of  March  by  citizens  who  assembled  at  Champoeg.  Nineteen 
names  were  enrolled  ;  T.  D.  Keizer  being  elected  Captain,  and  J. 
L.  Morrison  and  Mr.  F.  C.  (or  James)  Cason,  Lieutenants.  Their 
services  were  not  required. 

In  May,  1844,  Rev.  George  Gary  arrived  by  sea  to  supersede 
Jason  Lee  in  charge  of  the  Methodist  missions,  the  latter  being 
already  on  his  way  East.  The  mission  property  was  immediately 
sold  and  the  missionary  \n  ork,  which  had  amounted  to  little  for 
several  years,  so  far  as  accomplishments  were  concerned,  was  dis- 
continued, except  at  The  Dalles.  While  the  Methodists  were  thus 
withdrawing  fi'om  the  field,  the  Catholics  were  largely  increasing 


EIGHTEEN  FORTT-FOUB  TO  EIGHTEEN  FOBTT-NINE. 


281 


their  force.  Among  other  arrivals  for  that  purpose  were  six  sisters 
of  the  order  of  Notre  Dame,  who  came  to  found  a  convent  in  the 
Willamette.  Father  P.  J.  DeSmet,  who  had  previously  founded  a 
mission  among  the  Flatheads,  brought  the  sisters  to  Oregon  by  sea, 
being  also  accompanied  by  four  priests  and  several  laymen.  Three 
other  priests  came  overland  from  St.  Louis.  As  Father  Blanchet 
expresses  it :  "  The  schemes  of  the  Protestant  ministers  had  been 
fought  and  nearly  annihilated,  ospecially  at  Nesqually,  Vancouver, 
Cascades,  Clackamas  and  Willamette  Falls,  so  that  a  visitor  came 
in  1844  and  disbanded  the  whole  Methodist  Mission,  and  sold  its 
property." 

On  the  fourteenth  of  May,  1844,  an  election  was  held  for  officers 
of  the  Provisional  Government,  at  which  some  two  hundred  votes 
were  cast.  P.  G.  Stewart,  Osborn  Russell  and  W.  J.  Bailey  were 
chosen  Executive  Committee  ;  Dr.  J.  L.  Babcock,  Supreme  Judge  ; 
Dr.  John  E.  Long,  Clerk  and  Recorder  ;  Philip  Foster,  Treasurer  ; 
Joseph  L.  Meek,  Sheriff.  The  Territory  had  been  partitioned  into 
three  Legislative  Districts.  Tualatin  District  included  what  is  now 
Washington,  Multnomah,  Columbia,  Clatsop,  Tillamook,  Yamhill 
and  Polk  Counties.  Champoeg  District  has  since  been  divided  into 
Linn,  Marion,  Lane,  Josephine,  Coos,  Curry,  Benton,  Douglas  and 
Jackson  Counties.  In  the  Clackamas  District  were  Clackamas 
County  and  the  eastern  part  of  Oregon,  a  portion  of  Montana,  and 
all  of  Idaho  and  Washington  Territories.  On  the  following  page 
are  the  tabulated  returns  of  this  first  popular  election  held  in 
Oregon : — 


282 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEZ. 
ELECTION  OF  MAY  14,  1844. 


CJi.lfrTiTJDA.T'ESa. 


Executive  Committee. 

P.  G.  Stewart* 

Osborn  Russell* 

Aliinson  Beers 

Jesse  Applegate 

Peter  H.  Burnett ■ 

Hugh  Bums 

David  Hill- 

W.  J.  Bailey* 

William  Dougherty 

A.  Lawrenee  Lovejoy 

Robert  Newell 

A.  J.  Heinbree 

William  Geiy^er 

Speneer 

Territorial  Recorder  or  Clerk. 
Dr.  John  E.  Long* 


J 
A 
F. 


O.  Johnson . 

C.  M.  Walker 

G.  Campbell 

E.  Wilson 

X.  Matthieu 

Suprein :  Court  Judge. 

James  L.  Babeock  f  * 

J.  W.  Nesmith 

Peter  H.  Burnett 

P.  G.  Stewart 

Osborn  Russell 

O. Johnson 

Territorial  Treasurer. 

Phil.  Foster* 

Nineveh  Ford  

P.  H.  Hatch 

A.  E.  Wilson--- 

John  E.  Long --- 

W.  C.  Remick 

Territorial  Sheriff. 
Joseph  L.  Meek* 

B.  Harragus 

William  Holmes 

Legislative  Committee, 

M.  Gilmore* 

Peter  H.  Burnett* -- 

David  Hill* 

M.  M.  McCarver* 

W.  T.  Perry  -- 

T.  D.  Keiser* 

Daniel  Waldo* 

Robert  Newell* 

W.  H.  Gray —  - 

W.  J.  Bailey 

F,  C.  Cason 

A.  Lawrence  LovejoyJ 


3DISTIi,ICTS. 


CUCUH13. 


41 

40 

21 

11 

10 

6 

6 

3 

3 

2 

2 

I 


33 

24 

8 

1 


39 

16 

2 

4 


TUiura. 


40 
4 
4 
2 
I 
1 

64 
2 
1 


15 

22 
10 


CIIHPOIO. 


84 

182 

18 


23 


10 


7 
7 

26 


27 
32 
24 
20 

8 


67 


14 


65 
88 


79 


67 
75 
75 
20 
11 
18 


TOTUS. 


140 

244 

49 

11 

10 

6 

6 

70 

26 

2 

12 

1 

7 

7 

73 

24 

8 

1 

2 

65 

88 

39 

16 

2 

6 

2 

48 
10 
4 
2 
1 
1 

143 
2 
1 

27 
32 
24 
20 
8 
67 
75 
75 
20 
11 
18 


*  Elected. 

t  Reslgntd  November  11, 1814. 

I  Elected  from  Clackamas  District. 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


283 


The  Legislative  Committee  elected  met  at  Willamette  Falls, 
in  the  house  of  Fel-i:;  Hathaway,  June  18,  1844,  and  chose  M.  M. 
McCarver  Speaker.  A  nine  days'  session  followed,  when  they  ad- 
journed until  December  of  the  same  year.  On  the  sixteenth  of 
December  the  Legislative  Committee  met  again,  this  time  at  the 
house  of  J.  E.  Long,  in  Oregon  City,  when  a  message  was  submitted 
to  them  from  the  Executive  Committee,  in  which  an  amendment  of 
the  organic  law  was  recommended.  A  seven  days'  session  folloAved, 
during  which  an  act  was  passed  calling  for  a  committee  to  fi'ame 
a  constitution.  Several  acts  were  framed  requiring  submission  to  a 
popular  vote  to  render  them  valid,  among  which  was  a  change  from 
the  triumvirate  to  gubernatorial  executive,  and  from  a  Legislative 
Committee  to  a  Legislature,  which  was  adopted  by  the  people. 

The  emigration  of  1844  was  nearly  as  great  as  that  of  the  pre- 
vious year,  adding  some  eight  hundred  to  the  American  population, 
two  hundred  and  thirty-four  of  them  able-bodied  men.  "  They  were," 
says  Hon.  John  Minto,  "self-reliant,  determined  men;  devoted, 
loyal,  bravely-enduring  women.  They  started  from  different  points 
under  different  leaders,  and  never  united,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
divided  up  still  more  as  they  traveled,  a  single  man  sometimes 
separating  himself  from  an  entire  company,  under  the  settled  con- 
viction that  they  were  all  too  contrary  for  him  to  keep  company 
with  any  longer."  The  main  companies  had  three  starting  points 
— one  from  Independence,  one  from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Platte, 
and  one  from  Capler's  Landing,  twelve  miles  above  St.  Joseph. 
The  last  was  commanded  by  Cornelius  Gilliam,  the  first  by  Nathan- 
iel Ford,  and  the  other  by  Major  Thorp.  Tlie  following  nearly 
correct  list  was  made  in  later  years  by  Joseph  Watt,  Willard  H. 
Rees,  William  M.  Case  and  J.  Henry  Brown,  and  read  by  John 
Minto  in  his  address  before  the  Pioneer  Association  in  1877: — 


^#11 


■II 
'I'll 


■M 


Alderman, 

BoT,:uan,  Wm.,  Jr. 

Bayard,  Nathan 

Crisman,  Gabriel 

.     'i 

Bird, 

Bowman,  Ira 

Brown,  Adam 

Crisman,  Wm. 

Buzzard,  Nathan 

Bunton,  Elijah 

Bonnin,  Peter 

Chamberlain,  Aaron 

'  ■;  ■! 

t'    I'' 

Burch,  Charles 

Bunton,  Joseph 

Crawford,  David 

Conner,  Patrick 

■1 

Boyd,  Robert 

Bunton,  Wm. 

Crawford,  Lewis 

Crockett,  Samuel  B- 

Black,  William 

Bulch,  Charles 

Clark,  Daniel 

Case,  Wm.  M. 

■:l 

Blakely, 

Bennett,  Capt.  C. 

Clark,  Dennis 

Clemens,  Wm. 

Bush,  Gteorge  W. 

Bordran,  Francis 

Clemens, 

Dougherty, 

■     ;";", 

Bogga,  Thomas 

Bartrough,  Joseph 

Cave,  James 

Doty, 

i 

BowmaD,  Wm.,  Sr 

Bray,  Wm. 

Davenport,  James 

284 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


Dagon,  Dr. 
Durbin,  Daniel 
Dupuis,  Edward 
Emery,  C. 
Edes,  Moses 
Everman,  C. 
Eades,  John 
Eades,  Abr. 
Eades,  Henry 
Eades,  Clark 
Eades,  Solomon 
Evans,  David 
Evans,  N.  D. 
Eddy,  Robert 
Elliek,  Johin 
Fleming,  John 
Ford,  Nathaniel 
Ford,  Mark 
Fruit,  James 
Fruit,  "Doc." 
Fuller,  Jenny 
Gilbert,  1.  N. 
Goff,  David 
Gott",  Samuel 
Goff,  Marion 
Grant,  David 
Gilliam,  Mitchell 
Gilliam,  Cornelius 
Gilliam,  Smith 
Gilliam,  William 
Gilliam,  Porter 
Gage,  William 
Gage,  Jesse 
Goodwin,  W.  H. 

Gillespie, 

Gerrish,  James 
Gerrish,  John 
Gillahan,  Martin 
Gillahan,  William 
Gilmore,  Charles 
Ilinman,  Alanson 
Hedges,  A.  F. 
Hutton,  Jacob 
Hill,  Fleming 
Hawley,  J.  C. 
Hoover,  Jacob 
Holt,  T. 
Harper,  James 
Holman,  Joseph 


Howard,  John 
Hunt,  James 
Humphrey,  Norris 
Hummer,  Jacob 
Higgins,  Herman 
Higgins  Williams 
Hibler,  George 
Inyard,  John 
Inyard,  Abr. 
Inyard,  Peter 
Johnson,  William 
Johnson,  James 
Johnson,  David 
Johnson,  Daniel 
Johnson,  James 
Jackson,  John 
Jenkins,  David 
Jenkins,  William 
Jenkins,  Henry 
Kindred,  David 
Kindred,  Bart 
Kindred,  John 
Kinney,  Daniel 
Lee,  Barton 
Lousenaute,  John 
Lews,  Charles 
Morgan,  vVilliam 
McGrude',  Theo. 
McGrudei .  Ed. 
Minto,  John 
McDaniel,  Joshua 
McDaniel.  Elisha 
McDaniel,  Mrs. 

McMahan, 

Martin,  Nehemlah 
McSwain,  Samuel 
McAllister,  James 
Morrison,  R.  W. 
Moore,  Michael 


Neal,  Calvin 
Neal,  Robert 
Neal,  Alex. 
Neal,  Peter 
Nelson,  George   • 
Nelson,  Cyrus 
Nichols,  John 
Nicliols,  Frank 
Nichols,  Benjamin 
Owless,  Ruel 
Owens,  Henry 
Owens,  James 
Owens,  John 
Owens,  John 
Perkins,  Joel,  Sr. 
Perkins,  Joel,  Jr. 
Perkins,  John 
Parker,  David 

Priest, 

Parrot,  Joseph 
Pack  wood,  S. 
Packwood,  T. 
Payne,  R.  K. 
Prather,  William 
Prather,  Theodore 
Pettie,  Eaben 
Pettie,  Amab 
Rowland,  J. 


Smith,  William 
Smith,  Noyes 
Smith,  Texas 
SaflFlron,  Henry 
Sis,  Big 
Stewart,  James 
Saunders,  William 
Shaw,  Joshua 
Shaw,A.C.R.(Sheep) 
Shaw,  Wash. 
Shaw,  Thomas 
Shaw.  B.  F. 
Shaw,  Capt.  Wm. 
Stephens,  James 
Sager,  ,  died  on 

the  way  at  Green 

River. 
Saxcon,  Charles 
Snelling,  Vincent 
Snelling,  Benjamin 

Snooks, 

Teller,  Jerry 
Thornton,  Sebrin 
Thomas,  O.  S. 
Thorp,  John 
Thorp,  Alvin 
Thorp,  Theodore 
Thorp,  Mortimer 


Robin8on,E.(Moun- Thorp,  Milton 

tain.)  Trues,  Cooper  Y. 

Robinson.T.G.  (Fat-  Tucker,  Benjamin 


ty.) 
Robinson,  Ben 
Rees,  Willard  H. 
Rice,  Parton 
Rice,  Mac 
Rice,  (Old  Man) 

Ramsey, 

Ramsdell,  


Marshall,  James,  the  Sears,  Franklin 
discoverer  of  gold  Shelton,  Jackson 


at  Sutter's  Mill. 
Moreland,  Lafe 
Mulky,  Westley 
Mulkey,  Luke 

Murray, . 

Mudgett, 

Neal,  George 
Neal,  Attey 


Sebring,  William 
Scott,  John 
Scott,  Levi 
Simmons,  M.  T. 

Springer, 

Smith,  J.  S. 
Smith,  Charles 
Smith,  Peter 


Tucker,  Long 
Vance,  Tnos.,  died 

on  the  Platte. 
Waunch,  George 
Williams,  Poe 
Williams,  — — 
Wright,  Harrison 
Woodcock,  Richard 
Welsh,  James 
Walker,  James,  Sr. 
Walker,  Jameu,  Jr. 
Walker,  Robert 
Williamson,  Henry 
Watt,  Joseph 

Warm  bough, 

Werner,  Thomas 


The  following  turned  off  and  went  to  California  : — 

Calvin, Foster,  Joseph  Greenwood,  G.  Hitchcock,  —  and 

Flomboy,  John         Greenwood,  John      Greenwood,  Britain     son. 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


285 


Jackson, Montgomery,  Allen  Schallenberger,  M.    Townsend,  Dr. 

Martin,  Patrick  Montgomery,  James  Stephens,  Captain     Scott  and  Bobbin, 

Martin,  Dennis  Murphy,Martin,and  Sullivan,  John,  and     colored  men  with 

Martin,  William  five  sons.                    brother.                      Col.  Ford. 
Miller,  James 

Mrs.  Wm.  M.  Case  furnishes  the  following  list  of  ladies  who 

came  in  Major  Thorp's  company  : — 

Case,  Mrs.  Wm.  M.  Higgins,  Mrs.  Her-  Snelling,  Mrs.  Vin-  Horace  Holden  and 
Eliza,  a  mulatto  girl     man  cent  May,  his  wife,  ar- 

Hammer,  Mrs.  Jac'b  Johnson,  Mrs.  D.      Tucker,  Mrs.  Benj.        rived  in  April  of 
Hannah,  Aunt,  ane-  Shaw,  Mrs.  Joshua    Thorp,Mi88  Amanda     this  year  from  the 
gress  Snelling,  Miss  Eliza  Sandwich  Islands. 

Of  this  emigration  Michael  T.  Simmons  and  a  few  others  located 
on  Puget  Sound,  making  the  first  American  settlement  north  of 
the  Columbia. 


GENERAL  ELECTION,  JUNE  3,  1845. 
The  first  annual  election  was  held  on  the  third  of  June,  1845. 
tabular  statement  will  prove  interesting  and  of  historical  value  :— 


The  following 


OJLXTIDZIDJ^T^B. 


Oovemor. 

George  Abernethy* 

Osborn  Russell 

William  J.  Bailey 

A.  Lawrence  Lovejoy 


Total  vote  cast 

Secretary, 

John  E.  Long  1*  --- 

Noyes  Smith 

Treasurer. 

Phil.  Foster 

Francis  Ermatinger  2* 

Jitdgc. 

J.  W.  Nesmith  3* 

District-Attorney. 

Marcus  Ford  4* 

AsBeaaor, 

S.  W.  Moss*-— - 

Jacob  Reed 

Sheriff.} 

Joseph  L.  Meek  5* 

A.  J.  Hembree - 


I3ISTIJ,iaTS. 


a 

M 
o 


46 

22 

2 

44 


114 

65 
48 

62 
61 

111 

100 

53 
52 

59 

42 


•a 

s 


58 

54 

6 

5 


123 

70 
47 

49 
50 

115 

78 

39 
48 

77 
45 


be 

a 

o 


51 

47 

60 

9 


167 

117 
53 

47 
118 

166 

168 

119 

48 

111 
54 


on 


22 


23 

6 

12 

1 
12 

17 

10 


5 
15 


.4 


51 

7 

7 

12 


77 

25 

35 

38 
2U 

64 

53 

5 
56 

15 
61 


3 

o 


228 

130 

75 

71 


504 

283 
195 

197 
251 

473 

409 

216 
204 

267 
215 


*  Officers  elected. 

1.  Deceased.    Frederick  PrtKg  appointed  to  fill  vacancy  June  26, 1846. 

2.  KeslKned.    John  H.  Couch  appointed  to  vacancy  March  4, 184^. 

8.  Succeeded  by  Alonzo  A.  Skinner.  .  .       ^  „      ..  .„ 

4.  ReslKned  February  4, 1846,  W.  G.  T' Vault  appointed  to  vacancy;  he  reaigned  March  10, 

1816,  and  was  succeeded  by  A.  L.  Lov^oy. 

5.  B«*lgned,uid  waaeuooeededbyH.  M.  Kolgbtoo. 


■'ivi 


m 


'^% 


286  HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 

GENERAL  ELECTION,  JUNE  3,  18o5- Continued. 


OAITDIU^TEIS. 


Bcpresentativeu- 


H.  A.  J.  Lee*  - - 

Hirum  Straifilit* 

\V.  H.  Gniv* 

C.  E.  Pickett 

N.  Ford — 

M.  M.  MeCarvei* 

U.  Lenox -- 

D.  Hill* 

(J.  Kiitton 

V.  VV.  Diiwson 

Jose|>h  (>ale 

J.  W.  Smith* 

C.  M.  Wailier 

J.  M.  Garrison* 

M.  G.  Foiry* 

Joseph  (Jervais 

Barton  Lee* — — 

W.  H.  Willson 

Robert  Newell* 

A.  Chamberlain - 

F.  X.  Matbieu 

John  MoClure* 

George  Birnnions 

Jesse  Applegate* 

A.  Hendrick* 

S.  Wniith 

J.  Richardson  --- -. 

R.  Clark 

Convention  (to  frame  constitution) 

No  Convention  (to  frame  constitution)- 


I3IST3a,ICTS. 


93 


OS 
S3 


99 
82 
54 
50 
23 


a 

3 


51 
39 
63 
2S 
22 
43 
51 
47 


te 


a 
a 
Si 


03 
O 


128 
131 
68 
90 
4f) 
79 
74 
14 


11 

10 


93 


38 
34 
31 
29 
10 


3 

o 


99 
82 
54 
50 
23 
51 
39 
53 
28 
22 
43 
51 
47 
128 
131 
68 
90 
49 
79 
74 
14 
11 
10 
38 
34 
31 
29 
10 
190 
283 


*    Officers  elected. 

Note— Tlieoplillus  McOruder  was  appointed  Recorder  December  8,  1846.  Wm.  Q.  T'Vault 
was  appointed  Postmaster-General  of  Oregon  in  December,  1816.  Q.  W.  Bell  was  ap- 
pointed Auditor. 

Two  new  districts — Yamhill  and  Clatsop — had  been  formed  out 
of  Tualatin,  making  five  in  all.  In  most  of  these  were  held  nomi- 
nating conventions,  where,  also,  were  chosen  delegates  to  a  general 
convention  at  Champoeg.  A.  L.  Lovejoy  was  the  successful  aspi- 
rant for  the  gubernatorial  nomination,  defeating  Dr.  William  J. 
Bailey,  Osborn  Russell  and  George  Abernethy.  The  convention 
was  not  satisfactory,  and  all  these  gentlemen  appeared  before  the 
people  as  candidates.  By  a  combination  of  the  friends  of  Russell 
and  Abernethy,  the  latter,  who  was  then  in  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
was  elected. 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIOHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


287 


The  Legislature  chosen  assembled  at  Oregon  City,  June  24th, 
elected  M.  M.  McCarver  Speaker,  and  remained  in  session  two 
weeks.  The  following  oath  of  office  was  proposed  }>y  Jesse  Apple- 
gate,  in  view  of  the  character  of  the  people  and  their  divided  alle- 
giance, and  was  administered  to  the  members: — 

Oath  of  Office— I  do  solemnly  sweiir  that  I  will  support  the  orRnnic  laws  of 
the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon,  so  fur  as  tlie  suid  organic  laws  are  consist- 
ent with  my  duties  aa  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  a  subject  of  Great  liritain, 
and  faithfully  demean  myself  in  office.    So  help  me  God. 

The  most  important  business  transacted  was  the  di-afting  of  a 
memorial  to  Congress,  asking  for  a  territorial  government,  and  the 
framing  of  a  new  organic  law.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  June  the 
memorial  was  signed  by  Russell  and  Stewart,  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee (Abernethy  not  having  yet  returned),  eTudge  Ncsmith,  and 
members  of  the  Legislature.  Dr.  Elijah  White  was  delegated  all  the 
to  convey  the  memorial  to  Washington.  The  Legislature  then  ad- 
journed to  await  the  result  of  the  constitutional  election,  ^vhich  was 
held  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  July.  This  resulted  in  two  hundred 
and  fifty-five  votes  for  the  new  law  and  only  fifty-two  for  the  old. 
The  Legislature  again  assembled,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the 
new  law,  on  the  fifth  of  August.  It  was  then  that  the  memorial 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  White  for  transmission  to  Congress. 
After  he  had  departed  they  became  dissatisfied  with  their  messeng<>r, 
deeming  that  he  intended  using  it  for  his  personal  advancement  at 
Washington,  and  they  sent  a  courier  to  overtake  him  and  demand 
its  return.  The  Doctor  received  the  demand  coolly  and  refused  to 
comply.  His  answer,  which  showed  how  correct  was  their  opinion 
that  he  proposed  making  the  memorial  serve  his  personal  ends,  was 

as  follows : — 

August  17,  1845. 
To  THE  Hon.,  Etc.: 

Oentleynen — Being  on  my  way,  and  having  but  a  moment  to  reflect,  I  have  been 
at  much  of  a  loss  which  of  your  two  resolutions  most  to  respect,  or  which  to  obey; 
but  at  length  have  become  satisfied  that  the  first  was  taken  most  soberly,  and  as  it 
answers  ray  purpose  best,  I  pledge  myself  to  adhere  strictly  to  that.  Sincerely 
wishing  you  good  luck  in  legislating, 

I  am,  dear  sii-s,  very  respectfully  yours, 

E.  WHITE. 

This  letter,  with  a  statement  of  the  circumstances  surrounding 
it,  was  sent  by  another  messenger  to  Washington,  and  arrived  just 
in  time  to  foil  the  scheming  Doctor's  chances  for  an  important 


.:i 


i( :  g 


288 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


appointment  which  he  was  about  to  receive.  Among  other  acts 
the  Legislature  passed  a  law  making  wheat  a  legal  tender  at  market 
price,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  a  circulating  medium.  The  body 
adjourned  sine  die  on  the  twentieth  of  August.  On  the  second  of 
December,  the  day  H*it  for  the  assembling  of  the  Legislature  by  the 
new  law,  and  no  election  having  been  held,  the  same  gentlemen 
again  assembled,  and  organized  by  electing  Robert  Newell  Speaker. 
A  session  of  seventeen  days  was  then  held,  during  which  P'  Ik  and 
Lewis  counties  were  created,  the  latter  embracing  all  of  Washing- 
ton Territory  west  of  the  Cascades.  This  had  been  designated 
"  Vancouver  District "  the  year  before,  but  had  not  sent  a  repre- 
sentative to  the  Legislature.  Sheriff  Meek,  in  pursuance  of  an  act 
of  the  Legislature,  took  a  census  of  the  population.  This  did  not 
include  those  living  "orth  of  the  Columbia  or  east  of  the  mount- 
ains, consequently,  except  the  ninety-one  reported  for  Clatsop, 
represents  only  the  population  of  the  Willamette  Valley.  The 
table,  which  does  not  include  the  immigration  of  1845,  is  as 
follows: — 

CENSUS  RETURNS  OF  OREGON  IN  1846. 


£ 

o  % 

S  0 
3M 

6 

Under 

12  years 

ofage. 

12  and 

under  18 

years. 

18  and 

under  46 

years. 

45  and 
over. 

Whole 
Number 

i 

COUNTIES. 

i 

1 
i 

i 

I 

i 
1 

i 

i 

i 

53 
114 

8 
90 
67 

i 

-3 

15 
42 
4 
26 
23 

"a 
1 

i 

"3 

i 
a 

a 

O 

H 

Clackamas  . 

18 
24 
17 
14 
16 

57 

85 

29 

127 

infl 

69 

M 

12 

45 
1 

28 

16 

37 

3 

94 

136 
171 
42 
142 
124 

1 
6 
9 

234   129  361 

Chamnoetr 

142   136 
14     18 

115   109 
79     65 

400   305   705 

ClatHOD -- 

611    30     91 

Tualatin 

309   229  538 

Yamhill 

31  j    24 

257    158  415 

Total — 

89     405 

419  .<)82 

117   lO.'i 

61ft 

?,9:> 

110   41 

1259   f«1  2110 

The  immigration  of  1845  consisted  of  some  three  thousand  souls, 
about  one-third  of  whom,  under  William  B.  Ide,  of  Bear  Flag 
notoriety,  and  guided  by  Greenwood,  the  trapper,  turned  off  at 
Fort  Hall  and  went  to  California.  There  has  never  been  prepared 
a  register  of  the  half  dozen  trains  into  which  it  was  divided,  and  it 
is  impossible  to  give  a  list  of  the  pioneers  of  1845.  A  few  might 
be  mentioned — names  familiar  in  Oregon  annals — such  as  Col.  W. 
G.  T'Vault,  J.  C.  Avery,  John  Waymire,  Frederick  Waymire,  John 
Flemiuing,  Captain  English,  James  B.  Kiggs,  Bufus  A.  Biggs, 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


289 


a 
o 


9 
P. 

O 


361 

7()5 

91 

538 

415 


Stephen  Staats,  John  Durbin,  William  J.  Horreii,  (T(^nCTal  Joel 
Palmer,  Simeon  Smith,  David  Carson,  John  M.  Forrest,  Dr.  Ralph 
Wilcox,  Solomon  Fetherous,  James  Allen.  They  brought  the 
cheering  intelligence  that  James  K.  Polk  had  been  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  on  the  party  cry  of  "  Fifty-four-forty,  or 
fight,"  and  had  been  duly  inaugurated,  and  that  the  prospects  for 
an  immediate  favorable  settlement  of  the  mooted  Oregon  Question 
were  favorable.  Tlu^ir  nund)ers,  too,  a(hled  so  materially  to  the 
strength  of  the  American  element  that  they  then  outnumbered  the 
representatives  of  Great  Britain  ten  to  one. 

When  the  emigrants  reached  F'^"t  Boise,  Stephen  H.  Meek, 
the  same  man  who  had  served  as  guido  la  1842,  offered  to  show  a 
shorter  and  easier  route  across  the  Blue  and  Cascade  mountains 
— one  to  the  south  of  thti  old  trail.  A  gioat  many  of  them  followed 
him,  while  others  refused  to  depart  from  the  regular  route.  Meek 
had  never  passed  through  the  countvy  he  was  now  entering,  but 
had  heard  of  it  from  others  when  lie  had,  as  a  fi'ee  American 
trapper,  been  for  a  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany. The  route  had  never  been  used,  but  it  was  known  that  the 
country  through  what  is  now  Southeastern  Oregon,  was  less  mount- 
ainous than  that  further  north,  and  Meek  naturally  expected  to  find 
a  passable  route  and  a  good  pass  through  the  Cascades.  In  this  he 
failed,  and  as  soon  as  the  emigrants  became  satisfied  that  he  was 
traveling  by  guess,  they  became  so  indignant  that  he  only  saved 
his  neck  by  using  his  feet.  They  then  undertook  to  pass  down 
John  Day  River,  and  finally  reached  the  Columbia  after  almost 
superhuman  exertion.  Had  they  trusted  to  Meek  it  is  possible, 
and  even  probable,  that  he  would,  by  taking  them  further  south, 
have  found  them  a  comparatively  easy  route.  This  episode  is  thus 
described  by  Hon.  Stephen  Staats,  one  of  the  immigrants  of  that 
year: — 


If 


When  nearing  Fort  Boise,  much  discussion  was  had  relative  to  the  route  to  be 
followed  after  leaving  that  point.  Stephen  Meek  had  met  the  emigrants  and  pro- 
posed to  pilot  them  over  a  new  route  by  which  to  bring  them  into  the  valley,  assert- 
ing that  it  was  much  shorter  and  better  than  the  route  to  The  Dalles.  I  recollect 
one  old  gentleman,  John  M.  Forrest  by  name,  who,  when  the  subject  was  warmly 
discussed,  declared  he  would  follow  the  old  route,  even  if  he  had  to  travel  alone. 
Says  he:  "When  I  left  the  States,  after  rcad'ng  the  letters  of  Burnett  and  others 
fi>jm  Oregon,  I  determined  I  would  not  be  led  ofT  on  any  new  route  claimed  to  have 
been  discovered  by  any  adventurer,  but  would  travel  where  others  had  traveled. 


290 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


and  thus  be  sure  of  !irr"ving  at  the  desired  point  to  which  we  are  all  looking."  But 
now  the  time  had  come  for  action.  One  morning,  after  a  night  spent  in  si)irited 
discussion,  Mr.  Forrest  broke  camp  and  started  on  the  old  trail;  others,  with  much 
warmth,  attempted  to  restrain  him,  but  he  persisted,  and  about  twenty-five  other 
wagons  followed  his;  others,  under  the  leadership  of  Meek,  struck  off  on  the  route 
declared  by  him  the  best  and  shortest ;  but  well  would  it  have  been  for  all  those  so 
doing,  had  they  persevered  in  following  the  old  route,  for  experience  proved  to  them 
that  had  they  so  done,  much  suffering,  in  almost  every  conceivable  fornj,  would 
have  been  avoided,  and  that  they  would  have  arrived  at  their  destination  much 
sooner  and  their  condition  more  hopeful  as  to  future  resources  to  provide  for  their 
wants  during  the  approaching  winter. 

It  was  but  a  few  days  after  Meek  left  Fort  Boise,  that  he  became  hopelessly  lost, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  good  judgment  and  determined  energy  of  some  of  the 
emigrants,  and  their  hiring  an  Indian  to  pilot  them  through  to  The  Dalles,  many 
would  have  perished  and  suffered  a  most  torturing  death,  that  now  survive  and 
to-day  can  recount  the  many  sad  incidents  and  afflictive  events  of  their  wearisome 
travel  to  that  point.  It  has  been  positively  asserted  that  while  Meek  was  thus  lost, 
he  suffered  to  such  an  extent  for  tlie  want  of  water  to  satisfy  his  thirst,  that  he 
opened  a  vein  in  the  neck  of  his  mule,  and  thus,  in  all  probability,  secured  his  own 
life  by  quaffing  the  life  blood  of  that  most  noble  and  docile  quadruped.  But  be 
that  as  it  may,  whether  true  or  not,  there  were  moments  when  the  sufferings  of 
husband,  wife  and  children,  became  so  unbearable,  and  so  intensely  torturing  to 
the  mental  vision  of  those  having  others  depending  upon  them  for  support  and  pro. 
tection,  that  had  he  who  counseled  them  to  take  an  unknown  and  trackless  route 
when  almost  out  of  provisions,  and  energies  already  nearly  exhausted,  made  his 
appearance  among  them,  he  might  have  been  made  a  sacrifice  to  appease  the  angry 
passions  with  which  they  were  infiamed. 

The  anti-Hudson's  Bay  Company  fanatics  absurdly  charge  that 
Meek  was  employed  by  the  company  to  lead  this  train  of  emigrants 
to  their  destruction  in  the  mountains,  the  only  evidence  being  the 
fact  that  Meek — as  did  also  a  number  of  Americans  who  were  known 
as  "  free  trappers,"  men  who  were  somewhat  independent  of  the 
fur  traders — had  engaged  himself  for  two  or  three  seasons  to  the 
company.     The  charge  is  too  ridiculous  to  be  considered. 

The  year  184()  was  a  momentous  one  for  the  United  States.  It 
saw  the  settling  of  the  Oregon  Question,  which  confirmed  to  the 
United  States  all  that  portion  of  Montana  lying  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  Idaho,  Oregon  and  Washington.  It  saw,  also,  the 
beginning  of  the  Mexican  War,  which  gave  us  Texas,  and  the 
wresting  of  California  from  Mexican  rule  by  Lieutenant  Fremont 
and  Commodores  Sloat  and  Stockton.  It  was  an  exciting  period, 
and  the  country  was  held  in  suspense  for  months  over  the  contro- 
versy with  England,  during  which  war  with  that  great  power 
seemed  almost  unavoidable.  The  incidents  attending  the  settlement 
of  this  great  question  are  clearly  and  graphically  described  by 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


291 


James  G.  Blaine  in  his  "  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,"  in  which  he 
displays  a  profundity  of  knowledge  of  the  political  intricacies  of 
that  period  which  carries  the  weight  of  authority  with  his  language. 
To  improve  upon  it  would  be  impossible,  and  to  epitomize  it  ^vould 
destroy  its  force  and  perspicuity  ;  nothing  but  a  complete  and 
liberal  quotation  will  suffice.     Mr.  Blaine  says: — 

The  convention  which  nominated  Mr.  Polli  took  bold  ground  for  the  immediate 
re-annexation  of  Texas  and  re-occupation  of  Oregon.  This  peculiar  form  of  ex- 
pression was  used  to  indicate  that  Texas  had  already  belonged  to  us  under  the 
Louisiana  purchase,  and  that  Oregon  had  Ijeen  wholly  ours  prior  to  the  treaty  of 
joint  occupancy  with  Great  Britain.  It  further  declared,  that  our  title  to  the  whole 
of  Oregon,  up  to  54°  40'  north  latitude,  was  "  clear  and  indisiaitable";  thus  carry- 
ing our  claim  to  the  borders  of  the  Russian  possessions,  and  utterly  denying  and 
defying  the  pretension  of  Great  Britain  to  the  ownership  of  any  territory  bordering 

on  the  Pacific. 

♦  »  *  4  *  » 

The  election  of  Mr.  Polk  was  an  unquestionable  verdict  from  the  people  in  favor 
of  the  annexation  of  Texas.  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  been  able  to  defeat 
the  treaty  negotiated  by  Mr.  Calhoun ;  but  the  popular  vote  overruled  them,  and 
pronounced  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  position  after  full  and  fair  hearing.  Mr. 
Tyler  was  anxious  that  the  scheme  so  energetically  initiated  by  him  should  be 
fully  accomplished  during  his  term.  The  short  method  of  joint  resolution  was 
therefore  devised  by  the  ever  fertile  brain  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  its  passage  through 
Congress  intrusted  to  the  skillful  management  of  Robert  J.  Walker,  then  a  senator 
from  Mississippi,  and  already  indicated  for  the  portfolio  of  the  Treasury  in  the  new 
administration.  Mr.  Polk  was  in  consultation  with  Mr.  Tyler  during  the  closing 
weeks  of  the  latter's  administration,  and  the  annexation  by  joint  resolution  had  his 
full  concurrence.  It  was  passed  in  season  to  receive  the  approval  of  President  Tyler 
on  the  first  day  of  March,  three  days  before  the  eventful  administration  of  Mr.  Polk 
was  installed  in  power.  Its  terms  were  promptly  accepted  by  Texas,  and  at  the 
next  session  of  Congress,  beginning  December,  184o,  the  constitution  of  the  new 
State  was  approved.  Historic  interest  attached  to  the  appearance  of  Sam  Houston 
and  Thomas  J.  Rusk  as  the  first  senators  from  the  great  State  which  they  had  torn 
from  Alexico  and  added  to  the  Union. 


The  policy  of  maintaining  an  equality  of  slave  States  with  free  States  was  to  be 
l)uraued,  as  it  had  already  been  from  the  foundation  of  the  government,  with  un- 
ccaKing  vigilance  and  untiring  energy.  The  balancing  of  forces  between  new  States 
addi'd  to  the  Union  had  heen  so  skillfully  arranged,  that  for  a  long  period  two  States 
w(  re  admitted  at  nearly  the  same  time— one  from  the  South,  and  one  from  the 
Noith.  Thus  Kentucky  and  Vernjont,  Tennessee  and  Ohio,  Mississippi  and 
Indiana,  Alabama  and  Illinois,  Missouri  and  Maine,  Arkansas  and  Michigan, 
Flicida  and  Iowa,  came  into  the  Union  in  pairs,  not  indeed  at  precisely  the  same 
nioineut  in  every  case,  but  always  with  reference  each  to  the  other  in  the  order 
named.  On  the  admission  of  Florida  and  Iowa,  Colonel  Benton  remarked  that 
"it  iseemed  strange  that  two  territories  so  difl'erent  in  a^,  ^  so  distant  from  each 
other,  80  antagonistic  in  natural  features  and  political  institutione,  should  ripen 
into  States  at  the  same  time,  and  come  into  the  Union  by  a  single  Act;  but  these 
very  antagonisms — that  is,  the  antagonistic  provisions  on  the  subject  of  slavery — 
made  the  conjunction,  and  gave  to  the  two  young  States  an  iuseparable  admission." 


i^^l 


292 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


During  the  entire  period  from  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Government  to  the 
inauguration  of  Mr.  Polli,  the  only  variation  from  this  twin  birth  of  States— the 
one  free,  the  other  slave— was  In  the  ease  of  Louisiana,  which  was  admitted  in  1812, 
with  no  corresponding  State  from  the  North.  Of  the  original  Thirteen  States, 
seven  had  become  free,  and  six  maintained  slavery.  Of  the  fifteen  that  were  added 
to  the  Union,  prior  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  eight  were  slave,  and  seven  were 
free;  so  that  when  Mr.  Polk  tot)lt  the  oath  of  office,  the  Union  consisted  of  twenty- 
eight  States,  equally  divided  between  slav  holding  and  free.  So  nice  an  adjust- 
ment had  certainly  required  consttint  watchfulness  and  the  closest  calculation  of 
political  forces.  It  was  in  pursuit  of  this  adjustment  that  theadmission  of  Louisiana 
was  secured,  as  an  evident  compensation  for  the  loss  which  had  accrued  to  the 
slave-holding  interests  in  the  unequal  though  voluntary  partition  of  the  Old  Thir- 
teen between  North  and  South. 

Looking  into  the  future,  the  Southern  men  took  alarm  lest  the  equality  of  their 
section  should  be  lost  in  the  Senate,  and  their  long  control  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment ended.  Even  with  Texas  added  to  the  Union,  this  equality  was  barely  main- 
tained, for  Wisconsin  was  already  seeking  admission  ;  and  the  clause  in  the  articles 
of  annexation  providing  that  four  new  States  might  be  carved  out  of  the  territory 
of  Texas  whenever  she  asked  it,  gave  no  promise  of  speedy  help  to  the  South.  Its 
operation  would,  in  any  event,  be  distant,  and  subject  to  contingencies  which  could 
not  be  accurately  measured.  There  was  not  another  foot  of  territory  south  of  36°  30', 
save  that  which  was  devoted  to  the  Indians  by  solemn  compact,  from  which  another 
slave  State  could  be  formed.  North  of  36^  30'  the  Missouri  Compromise  had  dedi- 
cated the  entire  country  to  freedom.  In  extent  it  was,  to  the  Southern  view,  alarm- 
ingly great,  including  at  least  a  million  square  miles  of  territory.  Except  along  its 
river  boundaries  it  was  little  known.  Its  value  was  underrated,  and  a  large  portion 
was  designated  upon  our  maps  as  the  Great  American  Desert.  At  the  time  Texas 
was  annexed,  and  for  ses'eral  years  afterwards,  not  a  single  foot  of  that  vast  area 
was  organized  under  any  tbriu  of  civil  government.  Had  the  Southern  statesmen 
foreseen  the  immense  wealth,  jropulation,  and  value  of  this  imperial  domain  in  the 
five  great  States  and  four  territories  into  which  it  is  to-day  divided,  they  would 
have  abandoned  the  struggle  for  equality.  But  the  most  that  was  hoped,  even  in 
the  North,  withia  any  near  period,  was  one  State  north  of  Iowa,  one  west  of  Mis- 
souri, and  one  from  the  Oregon  country.  The  remainder,  in  the  popular  judgment, 
was  divided  among  mountain  gorges,  the  arid  plains  of  the  middle,  and  the  unin- 
viting region  in  the  north,  which  the  French  voj/ageura  had  classed  under  the  com- 
prehensive and  significant  title  of  mauvaises  terrea.  "With  only  three  States 
anticipated  from  the  great  area  in  the  north-west,  it  was  the  evident  expectation  of 
the  Southern  men  who  then  had  control  of  the  government,  that,  if  war  with 
Mexico  should  ensue,  the  result  would  inevitably  be  the  acquisition  of  sufficient 
territory  to  form  slave  States  south  of  the  line  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  as  rap- 
idly as  free  States  coujd  be  formed  north  of  it;  and  that  in  this  way  the  ancient 
equality  between  North  and  South  could  be  maintained. 


The  Oregon  Question,  which  now  became  associated,  if  not  complicated,  with 
tho  Texas  Question,  originated  many  years  before.  By  our  treaty  with  Spain  in 
18:",  the  southern  boundary  of  our  possessions  on  the  Pacific  had  been  accurately 
defined.  Our  northern  boundary  was  still  unadjusted,  and  had  been  matter  of  dis- 
pute with  Great  Britain  ever  since  we  acquired  the  country.  By  the  treaty  of  Octo- 
ber 20,  1818,  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  was  established  as  the  bound- 
ary between  the  United  States  and  British  America,  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
to  the  Stony  Mountains,  cs  the  Rocky  Mountains  were  then  termed.    In  the  same 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUB  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


293 


treaty  it  was  agreed  that  any  country  claimed  by  either  the  United  States  or  Great 
Britain  westward  of  the  Stony  Mountains  should,  with  its  harbors,  liays,  and  rivers, 
be  open  for  the  term  of  ten  years  to  the  vessels,  citizens,  and  subjects  of  either 
power.  This  agreement  was  entered  into  solely  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
disputes  pending  final  settlement,  and  was  not  to  be  construed  to  the  prejudice  of 
eitlier  party.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  Ore(jon  country, 
England  having  with  prompt  and  ciiaracteristic  enterprise  forced  her  way  across 
the  continent  after  she  had  acquired  Canada  in  1763.  Stimulated  by  certain  alleged 
discoveries  of  lier  navigators  on  the  north-west  coast,  Great  Britain  urged  and  main- 
tained her  title  to  a  frontage  on  the  Pacific,  and  made  a  bold  claim  to  sovereignty 
as  far  south  as  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  nearly,  indeed,  to  tlie  northern 
border  of  California. 

Nothing  had  been  done  towards  an  adjustment  during  the  tjn  years  of  joint 
occupancy,  and  wlien  the  term  was  about  to  expire,  the  arrangement  was  renewed 
by  special  convention  in  1827,  for  an  indefinite  period — each  power  reserving  the 
right  to  terminate  the  convention  by  giving  twelve-months'  notice  to  the  other. 
The  President,  John  Quincy  Adams,  made  the  briefest  possible  reference  to  the 
subject  in  his  message  to  Congress,  December,  1827 ;  speaking  of  it  as  a  temporary 
compromise  of  the  respective  rights  and  claims  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  to  territory  westward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  For  many  years  thereafter, 
the  subject,  though  languidly  pursued  i.i  our  diplomatic  correspondence,  was  not 
alluded  to  in  a  President's  message,  or  discussed  in  Congress.  The  contracting 
parties  rested  content  with  the  power  to  join  issue  and  try  titles  at  l"v  time  by 
simply  giving  the  required  notice.  Tlie  subject  was  also  overshadowed  by  more 
urgent  disputes  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  especially  that  relat- 
ing to  the  North-eastern  boundary,  and  that  touching  the  suppression  of  tlie  African 
slave-trade.  The  latter  involved  the  old  question  of  the  right  of  search.  The  two 
governments  Ci:me  to  an  agreement  on  these  diflferenees  in  1842  by  the  negotiation 
of  the  convention  known  as  the  Ashburton  Treaty.  In  transmitting  the  treaty  to 
Congress,  President  Tyler  made,  for  the  first  time  since  the  agreement  for  a  joint 
occupancy  was  renewed  in  18i7,  a  specific  reference  to  the  Oregon  Question.  He 
informed  Congress,  that  the  territory  of  the  United  States  commonly  called  the 
Oregon  country  was  beginning  to  attract  the  attention  of  our  fellow-citizens,  and 
that  "the  tide  of  our  population,  having  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness  the  more 
contiguous  regions,  was  preparing  to  flow  over  those  vast  districts  which  stretch 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;"  that  Great  Britain  "laid  claim 
to  a  portion  of  the  country  and  that  the  question  could  not  be  well  included  in  the 
recent  treaty  without  postponing  other  more  pressing  matters."  He  significantly 
added,  that  though  the  difflculty  might  not  for  several  years  involve  the  peace  of 
the  two  countries,  yet  he  should  urge  upon  Great  Britain  the  importance  of  its  early 
settlement. 

As  this  paragraph  was  undoubtedly  suggested  and  probably  written  by  Mr. 
Webster,  it  attracted  wide  attention  on  l)oth  sides  of  the  Atlantic  ;  and  from  that 
moment,  in  varying  degrees  of  interest  and  urgency,  the  Oregon  Question  became 
an  active  political  issue.  Before  the  next  annual  meeting  of  Congress,  Mr.  Upshur 
had  succeeded  Mr.  Webster  in  the  State  Department ;  and  the  message  of  the  Presi- 
dent tor'-  ''*!"  aore  advanced  ground  respecting  Oregon.  For  political  reasons, 
there  ^^  an  obvious  desire  to  keep  the  action  of  the  government  on  this  issue  well 
abreast  of  Its  aggressive  movements  in  the  matter  of  acquiring  Texas.  Emboldened 
by  Mr.  Webster's  position  of  the  preceding  year,  Mr.  Upshur,  with  younger  blood, 
and  with  moie  reason  for  a  demonstrative  course,  was  evidently  disposed  to  force 
the  discussion  of  the  question  with  British  Government.  Under  his  Infiuence  ^  id 
advice,  President  Tyler  declared,  in  bis  message  of  December,  1843,  that  "after  the 


294 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


most  rigid,  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  unbiased,  examination  of  the  subject,  the 
United  States  have  always  contended  that  their  rights  appertain  to  the  entire  region 
of  country  lying  on  the  Pacific,  and  embraced  between  latitude  42'  and  54°  40'." 
Mr.  Edward  Everett,  at  tlnit  time  our  minister  in  London,  was  Instructed  to  present 
these  views  to  the  British  Government. 

Before  the  President  could  send  another  annual  message  to  Congress,  Mr.  Cal- 
houn had  been  for  several  months  at  the  head  of  the  State  Department,  engaged  in 
promoting,  with  singular  skill  and  ability,  his  scheme  for  the  annexation  of  Texas. 
Witli  his  quiclt  percei)tion,  he  discerned  that  if  the  policy  apparently  indicated  by 
Mr.  Webster  and  aggressively  proclaimed  by  Mr.  Upshur,  on  the  Oregon  Questiom 
should  be  followed,  and  that  issue  sharply  pressed  upon  Great  Britain,  complications 
of  a  most  embarrassing  nature  might  arise,  involving  in  their  sweep  the  plans, 
already  well  matured,  for  acquiring  Texas.  In  order  to  avert  all  danger  of  that 
kind,  Mr.  Calhoun  opened  a  negotiation  with  the  British  minister  in  Wasliington, 
conducting  it  himself,  for  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  Question  ;  and  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  Democratic  National  Convention  which  nominated  Mr.  Polk 
was  declaring  our  title  to  the  whole  of  Oregon  as  far  as  54°  40'  to  be  "clear  and  un- 
questionable," the  Democratic  Secretary  of  State  was  proposing  to  Her  Majesty's 
representative  to  settle  the  entire  controversy  by  the  adoption  of  the  forty-ninth 
parallel  as  the  toundary  ! 

The  negotiation  was  very  nearly  completed,  and  was  suspended  only  by  some 
dispute  in  regard  to  the  right  of  navigating  the  Columbia  River.  It  is  not  improb- 
able that  Mr.  Calhoun,  after  disclosing  to  the  British  Government  his  willingness  to 
accept  the  forty-ninth  jmrallel  as  our  northern  boundary,  was  anxious  to  have  the 
negotiation  temporaril.  postponed.  If  the  treaty  liad  been  concluded  at  that  time, 
It  would  have  seriously  interfered  with  the  success  of  Mr.  Polk's  candidacy  by 
destroying  the  prestige  of  the  "  Fifty-four  forties,"  as  Colonel  Benton  termed  them. 
In  Mr.  Polk's  election,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  deeply  and  indeed  doubly  interested:  first, 
because  of  his  earnest  desire  to  defeat  Mr.  Clay,  with  whom  he  was  at  swords' 
points  on  all  public  Issues;  and  again,  because  having  assumed  the  responsibility  of 
defeating  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  he  was  naturally  desirous  that  his 
judgment  should  be  vindicated  by  the  election  of  the  candidate  whom  his  Southern 
friends  had  put  forward.  Urgently  solicitous  for  the  annexation  of  Texas,  those 
friends  were  IndlfTerent  to  the  fate  of  the  Oregon  Question,  thougli  willing  that  It 
should  be  made  a  leading  Issue  In  the  North,  where  It  was  presented  with  popular 
effect.  The  patriotic  sjiirit  of  the  country  was  appealed  to,  and  to  a  considerable 
extent  aroused  and  inflamed  by  the  ardent  and  energetic  declaration  of  our  title  to 
the  whole  of  Oregon.  "  Fifty-four  forty  or  fight "  l)ecame  a  Democratic  watchword ; 
and  the  Whigs  '.«•  ho  attempted  to  argue  agajnst  the  extravagance  or  inexpediency  of 
the  claim  continually  lost  ground,  and  were  branded  as  cowards  who  were  awed 
Into  silence  by  the  fear  of  British  power.  All  the  prejudice  against  the  British 
Government  which  had  descended  from  the  Revolution  and  from  the  war  of  1812 
was  succi-ssfully  evol.ed  by  the  Democratic  party,  and  they  gained  immeasurably 
by  keeping  a  measur'  before  the  people  which  many  of  their  leaders  knew  would 
be  abandoned  when  the  pressure  of  actual  negotiation  should  be  felt  by  our  gov- 
ernment. 

Mr.  Polk,  however,  in  his  Inaugural  address,  carefully  re-alflrmed  the  position 
respecting  Oregon  which  his  party  had  taken  In  the  national  canvass,  and  quoted 
part  of  the  phrase  usetl  In  the  platform  put  forth  by  the  convention  which  nomi- 
nated him.  Tlie  issue  had  been  made  so  broadly,  that  it  must  be  squarely  met,  and 
finally  adjusted.  The  Democrats  In  their  eagerness  had  left  no  road  for  honorable 
retreat,  and  bad  cut  themselves  off  from  the  resources  and  convenient  postpone- 
ments of  diplomacy.    Dangerous  as  it  was  to  the  new  admiuistration  to  coulront 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


295 


by 


the  issue,  it  would  have  been  still  more  dangerous  to  attempt  to  avoid  it.  Vbe 
decisive  step,  in  the  policy  to  which  the  administration  was  committed,  was  to  give 
formal  notice  to  Great  Britain  that  the  joint  occupation  of  the  Oregon  country 
under  the  treaty  of  1S27  must  cease.  A  certain  degree  of  moral  strength  was  unex- 
pectedly imparted  to  the  Democratic  position  by  the  fact  that  the  venerable  John 
Quincy  Adams  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  notice,  and  ably  supported,  in  a  unique 
and  powerful  speech  in  tlie  House  of  Representatives,  our  title  to  the  country  up  to 
54°  40'.  The  ttrst  convention  for  joint  occupancy  had  been  negotiat'id  while  Mr. 
Adams  was  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  second  while  he  was  President ;  so  that,  in 
addition  to  the  weight  of  authority  with  whicli  he  always  spolie,  his  words  seemed 
entitled  to  special  confidence  on  a  question  with  which  he  was  necessarily  so  famil- 
iar. His  great  influence  brought  many  Whigs  to  the  support  of  the  resolution  ;  and 
on  the  9th  of  February,  1S46,  the  House,  by  the  large  vote  of  163  to  54,  declared  in 
favor  of  giving  the  treaty  notice  to  Great  Britain. 

The  country  at  once  became  alarmed  by  the  growing  rumors  that  the  resolution 
of  the  House  was  a  direct  challenge  to  Great  Britain  for  a  trial  of  strength  as  to  the 
superior  title  to  the  Oregon  country,  and  it  was  soon  apparent  tliat  the  Senate  would 
proceed  with  more  circumspection  and  conservatism.  Events  were  rapidly  tending 
towards  hostilities  with  Mexico,  and  the  aggrandizement  of  territory  likely  to  result 
from  a  war  with  that  country  was  not  viewed  with  a  friendly  eye,  either  by  Great 
Britain  or  France.  Indeed,  the  annexation  of  Texas,  which  had  heen  accomplished 
the  preceding  year,  was  known  to  be  distasteful  to  those  governments.  They  de- 
sired that  Texas  might  remain  an  independent  republic,  under  more  liberal  trade 
relations  tlian  could  be  secured  from  the  United  States  with  its  steady  policy  of 
fostering  and  advancing  its  own  manufacturing  interests.  The  directors  of  the 
administration  saw  therefore  more  and  more  clearly  that,  if  a  war  with  Mexico 
were  impending,  it  would  be  sheer  madness  to  open  a  quarrel  with  Great  Britain, 
and  force  her  into  an  alliance  against  us.  Mr.  Adams  and  those  who  voted  with 
him  did  not  believe  that  the  notice  to  the  British  Government  would  provoke  a 
war,  but  that  firmness  on  our  part,  in  the  negotiation  whicli  should  ensue,  would 
induce  England  to  yield  her  pretensions  to  any  part  of  Oregon ;  to  which  Mr. 
Adams  maintained,  with  elaboration  of  argument  and  demonstration,  she  had  no 
shadow  of  right. 

Mr.  Adams  was  opposed  to  war  with  Mexico,  and  therefore  did  not  draw  his 
conclusions  from  the  premises  laid  down  by  those  who  were  charged  with  the  policy 
of  the  administration.  They  naturally  argued  that  a  war  with  Great  Britain  might 
end  in  our  losing  the  whole  of  Oregon,  without  acquiring  any  territory  on  our 
south-western  border.  The  bare  possibility  of  such  a  result  would  defeat  the  policy 
which  they  were  seeking  to  uphold,  and  would  at  the  same  time  destroy  their  party. 
In  short,  it  became  apparent  that  what  might  be  termed  the  Texas  policy  of  the 
administration,  and  what  might  be  termed  its  Oregon  policy,  could  not  both  be 
carried  out.  It  required  no  prophet  to  foresee  which  would  be  maintained  and 
whicli  would  beabaniloned.  "Fifty-four  forty  or  fight,"  had  been  a  good  cry  for 
the  political  campaign;  but,  when  the  fight  was  to  be  with  Great  Britain,  the  issue 
became  too^eerlous  to  be  settled  by  such  international  law  as  is  dispensed  on  the 
stump. 

A  very  bitter  controversy  over  the  question  began  in  the  Senate  as  soon  as  the 
House  resolution  was  received.  But  from  the  outset  it  was  apparent  that  those  who 
adhered  to  the  54°  40'  policy,  on  which  Mr.  Polk  had  been  elected,  were  In  a  small 
minority.  That  minority  was  led  by  General  Cass ;  but  its  most  brilliant  advocate 
in  debate  was  Edward  A.  Hannegan,  Democatic  Senator  from  Indiana,  who 
angrily  reproached  his  party  for  playing  false  to  the  pledges  on  which  it  had  won  a 
victory  over  the  greatest  political  leader  of  the  country.    He  measured  the altuatioo 


kit 


m 


■y  ^ 


296 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


accurately,  rend  with  discrimination  the  motives  which  underlay  the  change  of 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  administration  and  its  Southern  supporters,  and  stated  the 
whole  case  In  a  quick  and  curt  reply  to  an  interruption  from  a  i)ro-slavery  Senator, 
— "If  Oregon  were  good  for  the  production  of  sujrar  and  cotton,  it  would  not  have 
encountered  this  opposition.  Its  possession  would  have  been  at  once  secured."  The 
change  in  the  Democratic  position  was  greatly  aided  hy  the  attitude  of  the  Whig 
senators,  who  almost  unanimounly  opposed  the  resohition  of  notice  to  Great  Britain 
as  passed  by  the  House.  Mr.  \Vebster,  for  the  first  if  not  the  only  time  in  his  sena- 
torial career,  read  a  carefully  preiwired  speech,  in  which  he  did  not  argue  the  ques- 
tion of  rightful  boundary,  but  urged  that  a  settlement  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel 
would  be  honorable  to  both  countries,  would  avert  liostiie  feeling,  and  restore  amity 
and  harmony.  Mr.  Berrien  of  Georgia  made  an  exhaustive  speeeh,  inquiring  into 
the  rightfulness  of  title,  and  urged  the  line  of  40°.  Mr.  Crittenden  followed  in  the 
same  vein,  and  in  a  reply  to  Senator  William  Allen  of  Ohio,  chairman  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  made  a  speech  abounding  in  sarcasm  and  ridicule.  The  Whigs  having  in 
the  campaign  taken  no  part  in  the  boastful  demand  for  54°  40',  were  not  subjected 
to  the  humiliation  of  rttracing  imprudent  steps  and  retracting  unwi.se  declarations. 

Under  the  influences  at  work  in  the  Senate,  events  developed  ra|)idly.  The 
House  resolution  of  notice  was  defeated  ;  and  the  Senate  j)assed  a  substitute  of  a 
less  aggressive  type,  in  which  the  House,  tlirough  the  instrumentality  of  a  confer- 
ence conunittee,  substantially  concurred.  The  resolution  as  finally  adopted  author- 
ized the  President  "at  his  discretion"  to  give  the  notice  for  the  termination  of  the 
treaty  to  Great  Britain.  The  preamble  further  softened  the  action  of  Congress  by 
declaring  that  the  notice  was  given  in  order  that  "the  attention  of  the  governments 
of  both  countries  may  be  the  more  earnestly  directed  to  the  adoption  of  all  proper 
measures  for  a  speedy  and  amicable  adjustment  of  the  difTerences  and  disputes  in 
regard  to  said  territory." 

The  Southern  Democrats  in  the  House  receded  from  their  action,  and  the  modi- 
fied resolution  was  carried  by  nearly  as  large  a  vote  as  had  been  the  previous  one 
for  decided  and  jK-renqitory  notice.  In  short,  the  great  mass  of  the  Southern  Demo- 
crats in  both  Houses  precipitately  threw  the  Oregon  issue  aside.  They  had  not 
failed  to  perceive  that  the  hesitation  in  the  administration  in  forcing  an  issue  with 
Mexico  was  due  to  the  apprehension  of  trouble  with  Great  Britain,  and  they  made 
haste  to  promote  schemes  of  territorial  acquisition  in  the  South-West  by  withdraw- 
ing the  pretensions  so  imprudently  put  forth  in  regard  to  our  claims  in  the  North- 
west. Only  forty-six  votes  were  given  in  the  House  against  what  was  termed  a 
disgraceful  surrender.  These  were  almost  entirely  from  Northern  Democrats, 
though  a  few  Southern  Democrats  refused  to  recede.  Among  those  who  thus 
remained  firm  were  Andrew  Johnson,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Howell  Cobb,  Preston 
King,  and  Allen  G.  Thurnuin. 

The  passjige  of  the  modified  and  friendly  resolution  of  notice  dispelled  all 
danger  of  trouble  with  Great  Britain,  and  restored  a  sense  of  security  in  the  United 
States.  Inmicdiately  after  its  adoi)tion,  Mr.  Buchanan,  Secretary  of  State,  under 
direction  of  the  President,  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Briti>ih  minister  on  the 
basis  discussed  by  Mr.  Callioun  two  years  before.  The  fort\ -ninth  parallel  was 
agreed  upon  as  the  boundary  between  the  two  countries,  with  certain  concessions 
for  a  defined  period,  touching  the  rights  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  the 
navigation  of  the  Columbia  River  l)y  the  British.  This  treaty  was  promptly  con- 
firmed by  the  Senate,  aiul  the  long  controversy  over  the  Oregon  Question  was  at 
rest.  It  had  created  a  deep  and  wide-spread  excitement  in  the  country,  and  came 
very  near  precipitating  hostilities  with  Great  Britain.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever 
that  the  English  Goveru.nent  would  have  gone  to  war  rather  than  surrender  the 
territory  north  of  the  forty-uluth  parallel.  This  fact  bad  made  the  wiuter  and  early 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


297 


spring  of  1846  one  of  profound  anxiety  to  all  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
more  esiiecially  those  who  were  interested  in  the  large  mercantile  marine  which 
sailed  under  the  Amerioan  flag. 

In  simple  truth,  the  country  was  not  prepared  to  go  to  war  with  Great  Britain 
in  support  of  "our  clear  and  uniiuestioiiable  title"  to  the  whole  of  Oregon.  With 
her  stronf?  naval  force  (m  the  Patittc,  and  her  military  force  in  Australasia,  Great 
Britain  could  more  readily  and  more  easily  take  possession  of  the  country  in  dispute 
than  could  the  United  States.  We  had  no  way  of  readiing  Oregon  exce])t  by 
doubling  Cape  Horn,  and  making  a  dangerous  sea-voyage  of  many  thousand  miles. 
We  could  communicate  across  the  continent  only  by  the  emigrant  trail  over  rugged 
mountains  and  almost  trackless  ])lains.  Our  railway  system  was  in  its  infancy  in 
184().  New  York  Oity  did  not  liave  a  continuous  road  to  Buflalo.  Philadelphia 
was  not  connected  with  Pittsburg.  Baltimore's  jirojected  line  to  the  Ohio  liud  only 
reached  Cumberland,  among  the  eastern  foot-hills  of  the  AlIeKhanies.  The  entire 
Union  had  but  live  thousand  nules  of  railway.  There  was  scarcely  a  spot  on  the 
giolie,  outside  of  the  United  Kingdom,  where  we  could  not  have  fought  England 
with  greater  advantage  than  on  tlie  north-west  coast  of  America  at  that  time.  The 
war-cry  of  the  Presidential  camjiaign  of  1814  was,  therefore,  in  any  event,  absurd ; 
and  it  proved  to  be  miscliievous.  It  is  not  improbal)le,  that,  if  the  Oregon  Question 
had  been  allowed  to  rest  for  the  time  under  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  18:^7, 
the  whole  country  would  ultimately  have  fallen  into  our  hands,  and  the  American 
flag  miglit  to-day  i)e  waving  over  British  Columbia.  The  course  of  events  and  the 
lapse  of  time  were  working  steadily  to  our  atlvantage.  In  ls:J6  Great  Britain  de- 
clined to  accept  the  forty-nintli  parallel,  but  demanded  the  Columbia  River  ivs  the 
boundary.  Twenty  years  afterwards  she  accepted  the  line  previously  rejected. 
American  settlers  had  forced  her  back.  W'ith  the  sweep  of  our  emigration  and 
civilization  to  the  Pacific  Coast  two  years  after  the  the  treaty  of  1846,  when  gold 
was  discovered  in  California,  the  tendency  would  have  been  still  more  strongly  in 
our  favor.  Time,  as  Mr.  Calhoun  said,  "  would  have  eflecled  every  thing  for  us" 
if  we  could  only  have  been  patient  and  peaceful. 

Taking  the  ({uestion,  however,  as  it  stood  in  1846,  the  settlement  must,  upon 
full  consideration  and  review,  be  adjudged  honorable  to  both  countries.  Wi.'-e 
statesmen  of  that  day  felt,  as  wise  statesmen  of  subse(iuent  years  have  more  and 
more  realized,  that  a  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  would  not 
only  be  a  terril)le  calamity  to  both  nations,  but  that  it  would  stay  the  progress  of 
civilization  throughout  the  world.  Future  generations  would  hold  the  governing 
power  in  both  countries  guilty  of  a  crime  if  war  should  ever  be  permitted  except 
upon  the  failure  of  every  other  arbitrament.  The  harmless  laugh  of  one  political 
party  at  tlie  expense  of  another  forty  years  ago,  the  somewhat  awkward  receding 
from  pretensions  which  could  not  be  maintained  by  the  Executive  of  the  nation, 
have  i)assed  into  oblivion.  But  a  striking  and  useful  lesson  would  l)e  lost  if  it 
should  be  forgotten  that  the  country  was  brought  to  the  verge  of  war  by  the 
proclamation  of  a  policy  which  could  not  be,  and  was  not  intended  to  be,  enforced. 
It  was  originated  as  a  cry  to  catch  votes;  and  except  willi  the  ignorant,  and  the 
few  whose  judgment  was  carried  away  by  enthusiasm,  it  was  from  the  first 
thoroughly  insincere.  If  the  punishment  could  have  fallen  only  upon  those  who 
raised  the  cry,  perfect  justice  would  have  been  done.  But  the  entire  country  suf- 
fered, and  probably  endured  a  serious  and  permanent  loss,  from  the  false  step  taken 
by  men  who  claimed  what  they  could  not  defend  and  what  they  did  not  mean  to 
defend. 

The  emigration  of  1846  consisted  of  some  two  thousand  souls, 
bringing  with  them  four  hundred  and  seventy  wagons,  and  one 


298 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


thousand  and  fifty  cattle.  At  Fort  Hall  about  one-half  turaed  off 
and  followed  the  Humboldt  River  route  to  California,  among  whom 
were  the  Donner  Party,  whose  dreadful  sufferings  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains  form  one  of  the  saddest  pages  of  Pacific  Coast 
history.  The  emigration  was  divided  into  a  number  of  independ- 
ent trains,  each  having  its  own  leader  and  guide.  Of  those  whose 
destination  was  the  Willamette?  Valley,  the  greater  portion  pursued 
the  old  route  down  Snake  Iliver,  and  reached  Oregon  City  without 
any  unusual  incident.  Not  so  wnth  all  of  them,  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  people,  with  forty-two  wagons,  were  induced  at  Fort  Hall 
to  attempt  a  new  route.  At  Fort  Hall,  Fort  Boise  and  Fort  Walla 
Walla,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  doing  a  thriving  trade 
with  the  immigrants,  selling  them  supplies  and  buying  for  a  song 
their  worn-out  cattle,  or  giving  in  exchange  for  them  an  order  on 
the  Chief  Factor  at  Vancouver  for  a  like  number  of  the  wild  cattle 
belonging  to  the  company.  The  genei'al  feeling  against  the  com- 
pany was  very  bitter,  and  in  the  spi'ing  of  1846  a  number  of  men 
who  had  settled  in  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the  valley,  decided  to 
explore  for  a  new  route  that  would  miss  the  company's  posts  and 
present  less  obstacles  to  the  passage  of  wagons  than  the  old  one 
down  Snake  River.  They  V)elieved  that  further  south  it  was  less 
mountainous,  and  that  Meek's  idea  of  the  year  before  was  correct, 
his  error  consisting  in  not  keeping  far  enough  to  the  south.  If  this 
new  route  could  be  found  they  would  accomplish  the  two-fold 
object  of  drawing  the  immigrants  away  from  the  trading  posts  and 
bringing  them  first  into  the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  where,  prob- 
ably,' the  majority  of  them  would  settle — a  result  earnestly  desired 
by  the  few  who  had  already  made  their  homes  in  that  regivn. 
These  men  have  been  charged  with  having  the  latter  result  as  their 
sole  object,  and  that  to  accomplish  it  they  deceived  the  immigrants 
as  to  the  character  of  the  route;  but  the  allegation  requires  to  sus- 
tain it  far  more  proof  than  has  yet  been  adduced,  especially  when 
made  against  such  men  as  the  Applegates. 

The  road  party  was  composed  of  Captain  Levi  Scott,  Jesse  ...id 
Lindsay  Applegate,  John  Jones,  John  Owens,  Henry  Boggus,  Wil- 
liam Sportsman,  Samuel  Goodhue,  Robert  Smith,  Moses  Harris, 
John  Scott,  William  G.  Parker,  David  Goff,  and  Benjamin  F. 
Burch.     They  passed  through  Umpqua  Valley  and  Rogue  River 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


299 


..ad 


Valley,  crossed  t>ie  Cascades  to  Klamath,  Tule  and  Goose  lakes, 
and  thence  over  the  arid  hills  and  valleys  of  Nevada  to  Fort  Hall. 
They  found  the  route  to  present  far  less  obstacles  to  the  passage  of 
wagons  than  the  old  one,  and  were  of  the  opinion  that  water  and 
grass  existed  at  sufficiently  short  intervals  to  render  it  a  practicable 
one  for  emigrant  trains.  In  this  latter  opinion  they  were  not  cor- 
rect, though  a  few  years  later,  the  route  having  been  remodeled  and 
new  watering  places  found,  it  was  quite  extensively  used  by  emi- 
grants to  Northern  California  and  Southern  Oregon.  The  trouble 
lay  chiefly  in  the  fact  that  they  were  mounted,  and  traveled  much 
more  rapidly  than  the  slow-moving  emigrant  wagon,  and  were  th  uS 
easily  led  into  a  mistake  in  judgment.  The  consequence  was,  that 
those  who  were  led  by  their  representations  at  Fort  Hall  to  try  the 
new  route,  found  it  almost  de\oid  of  water  and  grass  until  Goose 
Lake  was  reached.  They  suffered  severely,  and  their  cattle  became 
so  feeble  that  they  could  scarcely  pull  the  wagons  along,  many  of 
them  lying  down  in  the  endless  sea  of  sage  brush  to  die.  From 
Goose  Lake  to  Umpqua  Canyon  water  and  grass  were  plentiful, 
but  the  work  kept  the  cattle  from  recuperating  fully,  so  that  they 
reached  the  canyon  in  very  poor  condition.  Here  was  reached  the 
climax.  The  feeble  cattle,  such  of  them  as  remained  alive,  were 
unequal  to  the  task  of  pulling  the  wagons  through.  Added  to  this 
their  great  loss  of  time  had  caused  the  exhaustion  of  their  supplies, 
which  they  had  not  the  opportunity  to  replenish  offered  by  the 
trading  posts  along  the  old  route.  Their  hardships  were  great ; 
and  many  of  them,  abandoning  everything  in  the  canyon,  reached 
the  valley  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Among  these  were  Hon.  J. 
Quinn  Thornton  and  wife,  who  experienced  exceptionally  severe 
hai'dships.  The  impression  then  received  by  Mr.  Thornton,  that  those 
who  had  induced  him  to  depart  from  the  old  route  had  done  so  by 
means  of  willful  falsehood  and  for  unworthy  and  selfish  motives, 
has  never  faded  away.  It  has  given  rise  to  much  acrimonious  discus- 
sion and  bitter  feeling,  and  is  the  more  to  be  regretted  because  the  two 
leaders  of  the  controversy — Mr,  Thornton  and  Jesse  Ap})legate — 
are  both  gentlemen  of  great  natural  and  acquired  attainments,  of 
sterling  integrity,  and  receive  the  universal  respect  and  honor  of 
their  fellow  pioneers.  A  roster  of  the  emigrant  trains  of  1846  has 
never  been  prepared. 


800 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


The  immigrants  brought  with  them  intelligence  that  the  bound- 
ary question  was  again  being  negotiated,  and  was  in  a  fair  way  to 
be  settled,  giving  the  country,  as  far  north,  at  least,  as  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel,  to  the  United  States  ;  and  this  had  a  most  cheering 
effect  upon  this  small  self-governed  connnunity.  The  annual  elec- 
tion for  representatives  and  county  officers  occurred  June  4,  1846. 
The  following  gentlemen  wei'e  chosen  members  of  the  Legislature  : 
Hiram  Straight,  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  W.  G.T' Vault,  from  Clackamas; 
J.  L.  Meek,  Lawrence  Hall,  D.  H.  Lownsdale,  from  Tualatin;  Jesse 
Looney,  Angus  McDonald,  Robert  Newell,  A.  Chamljerlain,  from 
Champoeg;  Govei-nor  Sinmions,  from  Clatsop;  Thomas  Jeffreys, 
A.  J.  Hembree,  from  Yamhill;  J.  E.  Williams,  John  D.  Boon, 
from  Polk;  Henry  Peers,  from  Vancouver;  \V.  F.  Tolmie,  from 
Lewis.  Lewis  had  been  cut  from  Vancouver  (now  Clarke)  by  the 
previous  Legislature,  both  lying  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia. 

Another  event  of  1846  was  the  founding  of  the  Oregon  Spectator 
at  Oregon  City,  printed  upon  the  pre«?  brought  in  1830  from  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  The  first  number  was  issued  in  February,  and  it 
was  the  first  newspaper  upon  the  Pacific  Coast,  since  the  initial 
number  of  the  Californian  was  not  printed  at  Montei'ey  until  the 
fifteenth  of  the  following  August.  On  the  tenth  of  September  the 
United  States  schooner  Shark  was  lost  on  the  bar  of  the  Columbia 
while  endeavoring  to  put  to  sea,  and  her  stand  of  colors  was  a'l 
the  crew  saved  from  the  wreck.  Lieutenant  Howison,  her  com- 
mander, enjoyed  the  hospitalities  of  the  pioneers  for  several  months, 
and  upon  taking  his  departure  presented  the  colors  to  the  people 
through  Governor  Abernethy,  accompanied  by  the  following  letter: — 

One  of  the  few  articles  preserved  from  the  ship-wreck  of  tlie  late  United  States 
schooner  Shark,  was  her  stand  of  colors.  To  display  the  national  emblem,  and  cheer 
our  citizens  in  this  distant  territory  by  its  presence,  was  a  principal  olnject  of  the 
Shnrk^s  visit  to  the  Columbia;  and  it  appearsto  me,  therefore,  highly  proper  that  it 
should  henceforth  remain  with  you,  as  a  memento  of  parental  regard  from  the 
General  Government.  With  the  fullest  confidence  that  it  will  be  received  and  duly 
appreciated  as  suoh  by  our  countrymen  here,  I  do  myself  the  honor  of  transmitting 
the  flags  (an  Ensign  and  Union  Jack)  to  your  address ;  nor  can  I  omit  the  occasion  to 
express  my  gratification  and  pride  that  this  relic  of  my  late  command  should  be 
emphatically  the  first  United  States  fiag  to  wave  over  the  undisputed  and  purely 
American  territory  of  Oregon. 

The  flags  still,  on  proper  occasions,  flutter  in  the  Oregon  breezes. 
Lieutenant  Howison,  upon  his  return,  wrote  a  report  of  Oregon 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


301 


a'l 


and  the  struggles  of  her  loyal  citizens,  which  did  much  to  open 
the  eyes  of  the  Government  to  the  condition  of  this  region  and 
the  necessity  of  doing  something  for  the  protection  of  thosse  liardy 
people  who  had  carried  the  picket  line  of  republican  institutions 
so  far  into  the  wilderness. 

The  immigi'ation  of  1847  has  been  estimated  at  five  thousand 
souls,  fully  two-thirds  of  whom  cauje  to  Oregon,  the  remainder 
adding  their  strength  to  the  Americans  who  were  struggling  to 
hold  possession  of  California  against  the  defeated  Mexicans,  from 
whose  grasp  it  had  been  wrested.  Many  most  valuable  things 
were  brought  by  them,  things  which  added  largely  to  the  means 
the  people  possessed  to  increase  their  comfort  and  wealth.  As  one 
of  them  (Hon.  Ralph  C.  Geer)  expressed  it  in  a  recent  speech,  they 
"  l)rought  everything  nearly,  from  a  paper  of  pins  to  a  four-foot 
buhr."  The  mill-stones  were  brought  by  a  Mr.  liaun,  a  Missouri 
miller  of  consideralde  notoriety.  Another  important  item  was  a 
herd  of  pure  Durham  cattle,  brought  by  John  Wilson,  of  Illinois, 
who  also  had  among  his  effects  some  splendid  brood  mares.  Cap- 
tain Benser  and  J.  C.  Geer,  Sr.,  also  brought  some  fine  cattle,  and 
M.  L.  Savage,  the  well  known  race  horse  "  Old  George.''  In  a  few 
years  the  cattle  and  horses  of  the  Willamette  Valley  showed  the 
effects  of  tliis  introduction  of  blooded  stock  among  them.  Mr. 
Fields  contributed  a  flock  of  fine  sheep  from  Missouri,  whose 
descendants  have  always  been  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  farmers 
of  the  valley.  "  Uncle  "  Headrick,  William  T^^iin,  Johnson  Mulkey 
and  R.  Patton  also  brought  flocks  of  fine  sheep.  Thomas  and  Wil- 
liam Cox  brought  a  stock  of  goods  and  opened  at  Salem  the  first 
store  south  of  Champoeg.  They  also  brought  peach  pits  and 
planted  them.  A.  R.  Dimick  brought  potato  seeds,  which  he 
planted  in  the  northern  part  of  Marion  County,  raising  the  famous 
"  Dimick "  potatoes.  Mr.  Geer  brought  a  bushel  of  apple  seeds 
and  a  half  bushel  of  pear  seeds,  which  went  far  toward  supplying 
the  coast  with  fruit  trees.  But  by  far  the  most  important  under- 
taking of  all  is  thus  related  by  Mr.  Geer: — 

But  the  greatest  undertaking,  and  one  that  was  crowned  with  success,  and  one 
that  contributed  the  most  to  the  name  and  fame  of  Oregon,  was  the  "Traveling 
Nursery,"  brought  across  the  plains  by  the  late  Henderson  Luelling,  in  1847.  If  a 
man  is  a  benefactor  to  his  race  who  ma'.eg  two  spears  of  grass  grow  where  only  one 
grew  before,  what  is  be  to  his  State  who  makes  luscious  pears,  cherries,  plums  and 


802 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


apples  grow,  where  only  poor  seedlingB,  or  none,  grew  before!  Mr.  Henderson 
LuollinK,  by  briiiKlnvc  tliat  splendid  assortment  of  apples,  peurs,  plums,  cherries, 
quinces,  grapes,  berries  and  flowers  in  his  "Traveling  Nursery"  to  Oregon  in  1847, 
gave  to  Oregon  the  name  of  "Ood's  Country,  or  the  Land  of  Big  lied  Apples,"  a 
nume  that  every  pioneer  of  Oregon  feels  proud  of.  I  never  thought  Mr.  Luelllng 
received  the  reward  that  his  enterprise  merited.  I  have  dealt  with  him  to  the 
extent  of  thousands  of  dollars,  from  one  dollar  to  two  thousand  dollar  transactions, 
and  always  found  him  honest.  Being  honest  himself  lie  trusted  too  much,  and 
conse(|uently  was  victindzed  to  a  fearful  extent.  The  conception  and  carrying  out 
of  that  cnti'ri)riHe  was  not  tlie  sudden  conviction  as  to  the  importance  of  tiie  fruit 
liusiiR'Hs,  but  was  the  result  of  a  train  of  circumstances,  the  most  controlling  of 
wliidi  was  his  long  and  successful  engagement  in  the  nursery  business. 

In  the  fall  of  1845  he  began  to  prepare  to  start  to  Oregon,  but  could  not  dispose 
of  his  land  in  time  to  start  until  it  would  be  quite  late,  so  he  concluded  to  wait 
another  year  and  bring  the  "Traveling  Nursery."  He  planted  his  nursery  thus: 
He  made  two  boxes  twelve  inches  deep,  and  just  wide  and  long  enough  to  All  the 
wagon  bed,  and  filled  them  with  a  compost  consisting  principally  of  charcoal  and 
earth,  into  which  he  i)lanted  about  seven  hundred  trees  and  shrubs,  from  twenty 
inches  to  four  feet  high,  and  protected  tliem  from  the  stock  by  a  light  though  strong 
frame  fastened  to  the  wagon  bed.  He  left  the  Missouri  River  the  seventeenth  of 
May. 

On  the  Platte  Mr.  Luelling  took  charge  of  the  nursery  wagon  and  team  to  bring 
it  through  in  his  own  way  and  time,  for  it  was  already  pronounced  by  some  of  his 
friends  as  a  very  hazardous  undertaking  to  draw  such  a  heavy  load  all  tlie  way 
over  the  Kodiy  Mountains;  but  every  discouraging  proposition  he  inv  '•■' 
answered,  that  so  long  as  he  could  take  it  without  endangering  the  safety  of  h: 
family,  he  would  stick  to  it.  The  last  time  that  any  one  tried  to  discourage  him 
about  the  nursery  wagon  was  on  the  North  Platte.  Rev.  Mr.  Wliite  suggested  that 
he  had  l)etter  leave  it,  as  the  cattle  vvere  becoming  weary  and  foot-sore,  and  that 
owing  to  the  continued  weight  of  that  load,  it  would  kill  all  his  cattle  and  prevent 
his  getting  througli;  but  his  answer  was  such  an  emphatic  "no,"  that  he  was 
allowed  to  follow  his  own  course  after  that  without  remonstrance. 

The  nursery  reached  The  Dalles  about  the  first  of  October,  and  the  trees  were 
there  taken  out  of  the  boxes  and  securely  wrapped  in  cloths  to  protect  them  from 
frosty  nights  and  the  various  handlings  that  they  had  to  undergo  in  the  transit 
down  the  Columbia.  That  load  of  trees  contidned  health,  wealth  and  comfort  for 
the  old  pioneers  of  Oregon.  It  was  the  mother  of  all  our  early  nurseries  and 
orchards,  and  gave  Oregon  a  name  and  fame  that  she  never  would  have  had  with- 
out it.  The  load  of  living  trees  and  shrubs  brought  more  wealth  to  Oregon  than 
any  ship  that  ever  entered  the  Columbia  River.  Then  I  say  hail,  all  hail,  to  the 
"  Traveling  Nursery  "  that  crossed  the  plains  in  1847! 

Besides  those  already  mentioned  the  immigration  of  1847  con- 
tained many  who  subsequently  became  prominent  in  the  political, 
professional  and  industrial  life  of  Oregon,  one  of  them  being  Hon. 
Samuel  R.  Thurston,  who  first  represented  the  Territory  in  Con- 
gress, and  in  whose  honor  Thurston  County,  now  in  Washington 
Territory,  was  named. 

A  portion  of  the  immigration  of  1847  came  down  the  Humboldt 
and  over  the  Applegate  trail  to  Southern  Oregon,  the  route  which 


EIGHTEEN  FORTY-FOUR  TO  EIGHTEEN  FORTY-NINE. 


303 


liad  been  found  such  a  disastrous  one  tlie  year  before.  They  were 
guided  by  Captain  lievi  Scott,  the  man  who  had  been  the  leader  of 
the  road  exploring  party,  and  who  accoi.ipanied  the  first  of  the  four 
ti-ains  which  this  year  followed  that  route.  They  e.\])erience(l  no  un- 
usual difficulty,  and  ac('oni[)lished  the  whole  distance  from  Snake 
River,  at  the  mouth  of  liaft  River,  to  the  head  of  Willamette  Val- 
ley, in  sixty-three  days,  a  much  c-horter  time  than  it  took  the  unfortu- 
nate party  with  Mr.  Thornton.  One  of  them,  lion.  Thomas  Smith, 
says:  "We  got  tlirough  '  the  Canyon '  with  Init  little  trouble,  although 
it  was  such  a  bug-a-])oo  to  the  emigration  the  year  before."  The 
easy  passage  of  these  trains  in  1847  is  conclusive  evidence  that  the 
disasters  of  1840  can  not  be  wholly  chai-gcd  up  to  the  unfavorable 
character  of  the  route,  and  that  the  gentlemen  who  persuaded  the 
immigi'ants  to  attempt  its  passage  were  not  guilty  of  so  much  mis- 
representation of  it  as  has  been  charged  against  them.  Of  the 
members  of  these  trains — one  of  which  attempted  to  reach  the  Sac- 
ramento Valley  from  near  Lost  River,  but  failed  and  came  to  Ore- 
gon— Mr.  Smith  remend)ers  the  following,  many  of  whom  still  re- 
side in  the  State  :  John  Gi'imsby,  wife  and  six  chihlren;  Abraham 
Coryell  and  two  grown  sons,  Lewis  and  George;  Benjamin  Davis, 
wife  and  six  children;  Ira  AVells,  \vife  and  one  child;  David  WVlls 
and  wife;  William  Wyatt,  wife  and  two  or  three  children;  William 
Aldrich,  Sr.,  and  wife;  William  Aldrich,  Jr.,  and  wife;  Andrew 
Welsh,  wife  and  two  or  three  children ;  William  Johnson;  AVilliara 
Risk;  John  Benson;  David  Cook;  Thomas  Smith;  Mr.  Davidson; 
John  Lebo;  David  D.  Davis  and  family;  Briggs,  Sr.,  and  wife; 
Briggs,  Jr.,  and  wife;  Prior  F.  Blair  and  family;  James  Frederick 
and  family;  John  Aiken  and  family;  James  Chapin;  Cornelius 
Hills;  Charnell  Mulligan;  Wilkesou  Gouldy;  Joseph  Downer; 
John  Gilliam;  George  Gilliam. 

Or  the  third  of  June,  1847,  was  held  the  annual  election  for  of- 
ficers, both  territorial  and  county.  There  were  1,074  votes  cast, 
of  which  George  Abernethy  received  536,  A.  Lawrence  Lovejoy  520, 
A.  Husted  11,  and  scattering  7;  thus  continuing  Mr.  Abernethy  as 
the  Chief  Executive  of  the  Provisional  Government.  The  follow- 
ing gentlemen  were  chosen  members  of  the  Legislature:  Medorum 
Crawford,  J.  W.  Wair,  S.  S.  White,  from  Clackamas;  Ralph  Wil- 
cox, Joseph  L.  Meek,  David  Hill,  fr  ui  x'ualatin;  Willard  H.  Rees, 


304 


HISTORY  OF  ■W'lLLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


A.  Chamherlain,  Robert  Newell,  Anderson  Cox,  AV.  H.  Rector, 
from  Champoeg;  L.  A.  Rice,  Lew's  Rogers,  A.  J.  Hembree,  from 
Yamhill;  J.  W.  Nesmith,  N.  A.  Ford,  W.  St.  Clare,  from  Polk; 
Henry  Peers,  William  Ryan,  from  Vancouver;  S.  Plamonden,  from 
Lewis;  J.  Robinson,  from  Clatsop. 

The  next  and  last  election  under  the  Provisional  Government 
was  held  June  12,  1848.  The  usual  county  officers  were  chosen 
and  the  following  members  of  the  Legislature:  A.  L.  Lovejoy,* 
George  L.  Curry,  J,  S.  Snook,*  from  Clackamas;  William  J.  Bailey, 
Robert  Newell,  A.  Gaines,  William  Portius,  from  Champoeg; 
Ralph  Wilcox,  Samuel  R.  Thui'ston,  Peter  H.  Burnett,  from  Tual- 
atin; AVilliam  Martin,  A.  J.  Hembree,  L.  A.  Rice,  from  Yamhill; 
H.  Linnville,  J.  AV.  Nesmith,  Osborn  Rusfiell,  from  Polk. 

The  emigration  of  1848  was  quite  large,  though  statistics  in  re- 
lation to  it  have  never  been  gathered.  Many  who  had  originally 
started  for  Oregon  changed  their  destination  for  California  when 
learning  while  en  route  of  the  discovery  of  gold  at  Sutter's  Mill. 


*  Resigned,  and  Medorum  Crawford  and  A.  F.  Hedges  chosen  at  special  election  Nov.  27, 1848. 


CHAPTER  XVm. 


THE  WHITMAN  MASSACRE  AND  THE  CAYUSE  WAR. 

Condition  of  Protestant  and  Catholic  Missions  in  18Jf7 — Situation  of 
Affairs  at  Waiilatpu — Tom  Hill  and  Joe  Lewis— Whitman  Buys 
The  Dalles  Mission  and  Prepares  to  Abandon  Walilatjm— Catholics 
Establish  a  Mission  on  the  Umatilla — Sickness  among  the  Cayuses 
— Joe  Leiois'  Poison  Story — Evidence  of  Coltmel  Craig  and  the 
Whitman  Indians — Details  of  the  Massacre — Charges  Against  the 
Catholics  — Hansom  of  the  Captives — Action  of  the  Provisional 
Gover7iment — Oregon  Rifles  Take  Possession  of  The  Dalles — A  Regi- 
ment Organised — Campaign  in  the  Cayxise  Country — End  of  the 
War — Five  Cayuses  Executed  at  Oregon  City. 


THE  condition  of  the  various  missions  has  been  noted  from  time 
to  time,  showing  that  the  Catholics  were  making  rapid  pi'o- 
gress,  the  inissions  of  the  American  Board  east  of  the  mountains 
advancing  S)ut  slowly,  and  the  Methodists  losing  ground  so  rapidly 
that  woi'k  was  discontinued  every^vhere  but  at  The  Dalles  in  1844. 
The  mission  property  at  that  point  was  sold  to  Dr,  Whitman  in  the 
fall  of  1847,  The  Catholics  at  that  time  numbered  in  their  con- 
gregations fifteen  hundred  whites  and  half-breeds  of  Canadian 
descent,  and  six  thousand  Indian  neophytes.  Dishop  F.  N.  Blanchet 
was  at  the  liead  of  the  diocese,  which  included  not  only  Oregon, 
Washington,  Idaho  and  Montana,  but  British  Cohmibia,  then 
known  m  "  New  Caledonia."  Bishop  Blanchet  was  in  j)ersonal 
charge  of  the  field  west  of  the  Cascades,  Father  A.  M.  A.  Blanchet 
east  of  the  moimtains,  and  Father  Modest  Demers  in  New  Caledonia. 
There  were  twenty-six  clergymen  employed,  among  whom  were 
P'athers  Michael  Occolti,  Peter  J.  DeSmet,  Peter  DeVos,  Audrian 
Hoecken,  Joseph  Joset,  Gregory  Mengarini,  John  Nobili,  Nicholas 


306 


HISTORY  OP  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Point,  Anthony  Ravalli,  Aloysius  Vercruysse,  Anthony  Sandlois, 
John  Baptist  Balduc.  In  the  Willaraett*?  Valley  there  had  been 
built  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  St.  Mary's  Convent,  St.  Francis  Xave- 
rius'  Chapel,  St.  John's,  in  Oregon  City,  and  a  new  church  in 
French  Prairie;  there  were  also  churches  at  Vancouver,  Cowlitz 
and  Whidby  in  AVestern  Washington,  four  in  New  Caledonia,  St. 
Mary's  among  the  Flat  Heads,  Sacred  Heart  at  Cceur  d'Alene,  St. 
Ignatius  at  Lake  Pend  U 'Oreille,  and  St.  Paul  near  Fort  Colville. 
There  were  also  half  a  dozen  other  stations  where  chapels  or 
churches  were  contemplated.  In  the  way  of  institutions  of  learning 
St.  Paul's  College  and  an  academy  for  girls  had  been  founded  in  the 
Willamt:l;te  Valley,  and  other  schools  were  maintained  at  some  of  the 
older  missions.  This  ari-ay  of  strength  is  a  startling  comparison 
^vith  the  feebleness  of  the  Protestant  Missions.  The  leading  causes 
have  been  pointed  out — the  powerful  influence  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  the  methods,  ceremonies  and  discipline  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  the  fact  that  they  were  not,  like  the  Protest- 
ants, held  responsible  by  the  Indians  for  the  gi'eat  influx  of  Ameri- 
can settlers. 

Of  the  missions  of  the  America  .  Board,  that  at  Lapwai  was 
making  slight  progress,  Tshimikain  Avas  holding  its  own,  and 
Waiilatpu  Avas  retrograding.  At  each  station  there  were  a  few 
who  seemed  to  be  in  full  accord  with  the  missionaries,  but  the 
majority  were  indifferent,  and  some  were  even  hostile.  At 
Waiilatpu  things  had  been  going  wi'ong  for  some  time.  From  the 
time  Whitman  first  went  among  thein  there  was  a  small  portion  of 
the  Cayuses  who  were  opposed  to  him  and  his  work,  Tam-su-ky, 
an  influential  chief  who  resided  on  the  Walla  Walla,  being  at  the 
head  of  this  turbulent  faction.  When  Whitman  returned  with  th*; 
great  train  of  emigrants  in  1843,  these  Indians  pointed  to  it  as  an 
evidence  that  his  missionary  pretensions  were  but  a  cloak  to  cover 
his  design  upon  their  liberties,  that  he  was  bringing  Americans  into 
the  country  to  take  away  their  lands.  This  feeling  of  hostility 
spread  from  year  to  year,  especially  among  the  Cayuses,  through 
whose  country  the  emigrants  nearly  all  passed,  and  who  were  thus 
better  able  than  the  other  tribes  to  see  in  what  great  numbers  they 
came  and  what  a  cordial  welcome  they  received  from  Dr.  Whitman 
and  his  associates.     In  1845  a  Delaware  Indian,  called  'Tom  Hill," 


THE  WHITMAN  MASSACRE  AND  THE  CAYUSE  WAR. 


307 


was 
and 
few 

the 

At 

tlie 

I  of 

ky, 

the 
the 
IS  an 
cover 
8  into 
tility 
ough 
thus 
they 
itman 
Hill," 


lived  among  the  Nez  Perces  and  told  them  how  American  mission- 
aries visited  his  people  to  teach  them  religion,  and  were  soon  fol- 
lowed by  other  Americans  who  took  away  their  lands;  and  he 
warned  them  to  drive  Mr.  Spalding  away,  unless  they  would  invite 
a  similar  misfortune.  This  Indian  visited  Whitman's  Mission  and 
related  to  the  Cayuses  the  story  of  the  ruin  of  his  tribe  which  had 
followed  the  advent  of  American  missionaries  among  them. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1847  arother  Indian  came  among  the  Cay- 
uses, about  whose  pedigree  there  has  been  so  much  dispute  that  it 
is  as  well  to  pass  it  by.  He  had  spent  much  time  among  the  whites, 
and  being  serviceable  as  an  interpreter,  and  being  ^lossessed  ot  much 
intelligence,  the  doctor  gave  him  employment  about  the  mission. 
He  seemed  to  be  possessed  of  a  fiendish  disposition  and  to  harbor  a 
special  malignity  against  the  Americans.  Joe  Lewis,  for  such  was 
his  name,  reaffirmed  the  statements  of  Tom  Hill,  and  said  that  it 
was  the  American  plan  to  first  send  missionaries,  and  then  a  few 
settlers  every  year,  until  they  had  taken  all  the  land  and  made  the 
Indians  slaves.  Tam-su-ky  and  his  followers  were  now  triumphant, 
and  boasted  of  their  superior  wisdom  in  opposing  the  mission  from 
the  first.  Besides  this  faction  there  were  now  many  who  desired  to 
exchange  to  the  Catholic  religion,  of  which  they  heard  favorable 
reports  from  other  tribes.  The  long  black  gowns  and  imposing 
ceremonies  had  captured  them.  Whitman  was  warned  of  the 
danger  he  ran  by  Um-howlish  and  Stick-us,  but  though  he  per- 
ceived the  gathering  storm  he  thought  it  could  be  averted.  Thomas 
McKay,  between  whom  and  the  doctor  there  existed  a  wai'm  friend- 
ship, also  warned  him  that  it  was  unsafe  to  live  longer  among  the 
Cayuses,  and  Whitman  offered  to  sell  the  property  to  him,  an  offer 
which  he  agreed  to  accept  if  he  could  dispose  of  his  claim  in  the 
Willamette  Valley.  With  this  sale  in  view.  Whitman  went  to  The 
Dalles  in  the  fall  of  1847,  and  purchased  the  disused  Methodist 
Mission,  and  placing  his  nephew,  P.  B.  Whitman,  in  charge,  re- 
turned to  spend  the  winter  at  Waiilatpu,  preparatory  to  moving  to 
his  new  location  in  the  spring.  This  was  the  condition  of  affairs 
when  the  Catholics  decided  to  take  advantage  of  the  desire  of  a 
number  of  the  Cayuses  to  embrace  that  faith  and  establish  a  mission 
among  them.  On  September  5,  1847,  Father  A.  M.  A.  Blanchet 
reached  Walla  Walla  with  three  associate  priests,  and  the  fort  be- 


d08 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


came  their  headquarters  for  a  number  of  weeks  while  they  were  seek- 
ing a  place  suitable  for  a  peimanent  location.  There  Whitman  found 
them  upon  his  return  fi'oni  The  Dalles,  and  quite  a  stormy  interview 
ensued,  though  it  must  be  confessed  tliat  the  storming  was  chiefly 
done  by  the  indignant  doctor;  and  no  Avonder.  He  had  just  made 
arrangements  to  abandon  all  he  had  accomplished  by  eleven  years  of 
self-denial  and  labor,  and  here  he  found  those  to  whom  he  attributed 
his  misf(^rtunes  ready  to  take  his  place  even  before  he  had  left  it. 
He  made  known  his  displeasure  in  strong  terms,  but  his  rebuke  was 
received  with  an  unruffled  coolness  that  served  but  to  increase  his 
a<r!Zi''ivation.  Thev  tiuallv  located  on  the  Umatilla  at  the  home  of 
Five  Crows,  the  head  chief,  two  days  before  the  massacre,  Father 
J.  B.  A.  Brouillet  beiuL^  in  charge. 

That  year  immigrants  from  the  States  brought  with  them  dyseu- 
terj'  and  the  measles,  which  soon  became  epidemic  among  the  Cay- 
uses.  Many  Indians  died  in  spite  of  the  ren)edies  administered  by 
the  doctor  and  the  careful  attention  ( r  nis  noble  wife.  This  was 
Joe  LeAvis"  oppoitunity.  He  told  the  Cayuses  that  Whitman 
intended  to  kill  them  all;  that  for  this  purpose  he  had  sent  home 
for  poison  tAvo  yeai*s  before,  but  they  had  not  forvt'arded  a  good 
kind;  this  year  the  inniiigrants  had  brought  him  some  good  poison, 
and  he  was  now  using  it  to  kill  oif  the  Cayuses;  that  when  they 
were  all  dead  the  Americans  would  come  and  take  their  lands.  He 
even  went  so  far  as  to  declaie  that  he  overheard  a  conversation 
bet\A  een  Mr.  Spalding  and  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Whitman,  in  which  the 
former  complainetl  l>ecause  the  doctor  was  not  killing  them  fast 
enough,  and  then  the  trio  began  to  count  up  the  wealth  they  would 
acf[uire  when  the  Indians  were  all  disposed  of.  He  also  asserted 
that  the  priest  (Father  Brouillet)  had  told  him  the  Doctor  was  giv- 
ing them  poison.  A  nvunber  of  years  before  an  American  trapper 
and  renegade  had  purposely  spread  small-pox  among  the  Blackfeet, 
and  killed  hundreds  of  that  tribe.  This  was  well  known  by  all 
the  Indian  tril>es  from  tlie  Cascades  to  the  Missouri,  and  had  its 
effect  in  leading  tlie  Cayuses  to  believe  the  Doctor  was  poisoning 
them.  These  statements  are  made  upon  the  authority  of  the  written 
statement  of  Colonel  William  Craig,  a  well-known  American  trapper 
and  trader,  who  happeneil  to  be  at  LapAvai  when  a  Cayuse  messenger 
arrived    there   nine   days    after  the  massacre,  for   the  purpose  of 


to 
lar 
eve 
Fo] 


THE  WHITMAN  MASSACRE  AND  THE  CATTJSE  WAR, 


309 


the 

'iVSt 

t«^d 

:eet, 
all 
its 

ning 
itten 
pper 
mger 
se  of 


informing  the  powerful  Nez  Perces  of  what  had  taken  place  and 
securing  their  support.  Colonel  Craig  was  present  at  the  council, 
and  heard  these  reasons  given  by  the  Cayuse  courier.  They  are 
also  based  upon  an  interview  held  by  the  writer  with  three  of  these 
Indians  at  Pendleton,  one  of  them,  Um-howlish,  being  a  chief  at 
the  time  of  the  massacre  and  a  warm  supporter  of  Whitman,  and 
still  an  adherent  of  the  simple  faith  taught  him  by  the  Doctor.  On 
the  point  of  the  priest  telling  that  Whitman  was  giving  them  poison, 
they  unanimously  agreed  that  they  never  heard  him  say  so,  but 
that  Joe  Lewis  had  told  them  tiie  priest  said  it ;  that  it  was  gener- 
ally believed  at  the  time  that  the  priest  had  thus  stated,  but  after- 
wards, in  canvjissing  tlie  question  among  themselves,  no  one  could 
be  found  to  whom  the  priest  had  said  anything  of  the  kind,  and 
that  it  all  came  through  Joe  Lewis.  One  thing  the  Komau  mis- 
sionary did  say,  and  this  helped  to  contii-m  them  in  the  belief  that 
he  had  said  the  other — that  Dr.  Whitman  was  a  bad  man,  and  if 
they  believed  what  he  told  them  they  would  all  go  to, hell,  for  he 
was  telling  them  lies.  Even  sucli  a  statement  as  that,  coming  from 
such  a  source,  and  nuide  to  unreasoning  and  ^^assiouate  savages, 
already  unduly  excited  by  the  loss  of  so  many  of  their  number,  w^is 
(■nough,  in  case  they  believed  it  true,  to  have  caused  the  bloody 
scene  wliich  ft>lk)wed,  even  had  not  the  ])oison  theory  been  so 
industriously  circulated  Ijy  the  scheming  L  nvis.  Without  knowing 
of  the  j:)erfidious  conduct  of  Joe  Lewis,  Whitman  recognized  the 
impending  danger,  and  retpiested  McKay  to  spend  the  wintei-  with 
him ;  but  he  was  unable  to  comply. 

The  followers  of  Tam-su-ky  determined  to  put  the  poison  theory 
to  a  practical  test.  The  wife  of  that  chief  was  sick;  and  they 
agreed  among  themselves  that  they  would  get  some  medicine  from 
the  Doctor  and  give  it  to  her;  if  she  recovered,  good;  if  not,  then 
they  would  kill  the  missionaries.  They  made  the  e.x2:)eriment,  and 
the  woman  died.  Waiilatpu  was  centrally  located,  since  the  Cay- 
uses  occupied  the  c(mntry  from  the  Umatilla  to  the  Tukannon. 
Every  Sunday  large  numlx^rs  gathered  at  the  Mission,  some  of  them 
to  actually  participate  in  the  vservices,  and  others  liecause  of  the 
large  crowd  they  knew  would  be  assembled.  On  week  days,  how- 
ever, it  was  seldom  that  a  dozen  could  be  found  there  at  a  time. 
For  this  reason  Tam-su-ky  and  his  followers  chose  a  week  day  for 


310 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


their  bloody  deed — a  time  when  they  thought  none  of  the  Whitman 
Indians  would  be  present  to  interfere.  They  were  careful  to  con- 
ceal their  designs  fi'om  the  Christian  Indians  and  from  Five  Crows, 
for  fear  its  execution  would  be  prevented.  On  Noveml)er  29,  1847^ 
about  fifty  Indians  assembled  at  the  Mission,  chiefly  the  relatives 
and  fi"iends  of  Tam-su-ky.  Of  these,  only  five  actually  participated 
in  the  bloody  work,  the  others  simply  looking  on  and  preventing 
the  interference  of  any  outsiders,  and  especially  of  the  one  or  two 
Whitman  Indians  who  happened  to  be  present.  The  horrible  de- 
tails of  the  massacre  it  is  needless  to  relate.  Mr.  Spalding  has 
given  them  with  a  minuteness  that  is  strongly  suggestive  of  a  liberal 
use  of  the  imagination,  yet  his  narrative  is,  in  the  main,  pro])ably 
as  correct  as  could  be  gathered  from  the  incoherent  stories  of  fi'ight- 
ened  women  and  children.  It  is  only  when  he  carries  the  melodra- 
matic too  far,  and  when  he  is  endeavoring  to  make  it  appear  that 
the  massacre  was  committed  at  the  instigation  of  Father  Brouillet, 
and  was  sanctioned  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  that  his  state- 
ments become  positively  unreliable;  though  throughout  the  whole 
account  they  closely  border  upon  the  line  of  uncertainty  and  doubt- 
ful authenticity,  and  the  deductions  drawn  are  often  extremely  un- 
charitable and  illogical.  He  uses  such  expressions  as  "  multitudes 
of  Indians,"  "  cutting  down  their  victims  everywhere,"  "  the  roar  of 
guns,"  "t^ra^// of  warclubs  and  tomahawks^  "shocks  like  terrific 
peals  of  thunder "  (referring  to  the  desultory  discharge  of  a  few 
guns),  ^'^  crash  of  the  clubs  and  the  knives^  and  yet,  when  the 
whole  is  summed  up,  but  thirteen  were  killed  in  all — nine  that  daj', 
two  the  next,  and  two  eight  days  later.  He  is  equally  reckless  in 
his  language  when  making  charges  against  Father  Brouillet,  whom 
he  accuses  of  coming  up  fi'om  the  Umatilla  the  day  after  the  mas- 
sacre and  "  baptizing  the  murderers."  The  facts  are,  that  he  came 
upon  an  invitation  given  him  by  the  Missionary  several  days  before, 
only  learning  of  the  horrible  tragedy  upon  his  arrival;  and  the 
"  murderers  "  whom  he  baptized  were  three  sick  children,  two  of 
whom  expired  immediately  after  the  ceremony.  He  also  accuses 
him  of  pretending  to  find  the  poison  and  burying  it  so  that  it  could 
have  no  more  influence.  On  this  point  the  Whitman  Indians  state 
positively  that  this  performance  was  done  by  Joe  Lewis,  and  not 
the  Priest.     The  only  interference  the  Priest  dared  to  make  openly 


Sa 


THE  WHITMAN  MASSACRE  AND  THE  CATIJSE  WAR. 


311 


in 
liom 


ore, 
the 
of 
uses 
)uld 
jtate 
not 
enly 


was  when  he  successfully  interposed  to  save  Spalding's  life,  and 
gave  liim  food  upon  which  to  subsist  during  his  flight  to  Lapwai. 

The  bloody  excesses  into  which  religious  zealots  were  led  in 
times  past  suggest  the  possibility  of  the  truth  of  these  charges,  yet 
they  are  entirely  unsupported  by  evidence  which  would  appeal  to 
the  intelligence  of  any  one  unbijised  by  denominational  prejudice; 
and  common  charity  should  demand  convincing  proof  to  sustain 
such  an  accusation.  The  Catholics  can  not,  however,  escape  a  large 
measure  of  moral  responsibility.  They  went  among  the  Cayuses 
for  the  purpose  of  driving  Whitnuui  away  and  obtaining  control  of 
the  tril>e;  and  to  accomplish  this  they  told  the  Indians  that  Doctor 
Whitman  was  a  l)ad  man  and  was  telling  them  lies,  and  if  they  did 
{IS  he  said  they  would  surely  go  to  hell.  Father  Brouillet  ought  by 
that  time  to  have  become  sufliciently  acquainted  with  the  Indian 
character  to  know  that  such  assertions,  if  they  were  credited,  were 
calculated  to  bring  a])out  just  such  a  tragedy  a.s  was  enacted.  The 
massacre  was  the  result  of  four  distinct  causes — the  dislike  of 
Americans,  the  ravages  of  the  epidemic,  the  poison  intrigue  of  Joe 
Lewis,  and  the  Priest's  denunciation  of  Doctor  Whitman,  and  where 
the  responsibility  for  one  of  these  rests  is  easily  seen.  The  victims 
of  Cayuse  ignorance  and  passion  were:  Doctor  Marcus  Whitman, 
Mrs.  Narcissa  Whitman,  John  Sager,  Francis  Sager,  Crocket 
Bewley,  Mr.  Kogei-s,  Mr.  Kimball,  Mr.  Sales,  Mr.  Marsh,  Mr. 
Saunders,  James  Young,  Jr.,  Mr.  Hoffman  and  Isaac  Gillen. 

Intelligence  of  the  massacre  reached  Fort  Vancouver  by  special 
messenger  from  William  McBean  to  James  Douglas,  the  Chief 
Factor.  The  courier  did  not  warn  the  people  at  The  Dalles  of 
their  danger  as  he  passed,  and  when  (piestioned  about  his  conduct 
replied  that  he  obeyed  the  instructions  of  jVLr.  McBean.  This  and 
McBean's  conduct  at  Fort  Walla  Walla  in  displaying  an  unwilling- 
ness to  give  shelter  to  fugitives  from  Waiilatpu,  have  l)een  cited  as 
conclusive  evidence  that  the  Hudst)n's  Bay  Company  connived  at 
the  massacre;  but  nothing  in  the  conduct  of  other  officers  of  the 
company  sustains  such  an  opinion,  while  nuich  is  to  the  contrary, 
and  it  simply  shows  that  McBean,  knowing  the  general  feeling  of 
the  Indians  against  the  Americans,  was  afraid  he  would  compro- 
mise the  company  by  defending  them.  He  had  not  soul  enough  to 
rise  to  the  emergency.     Mr.  Douglas  sent  a  messenger  to  Governor 


312 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Abernethy,  apprising  him  of  what  had  taken  place;  and  without 
waiting  to  see  wliat  steps  the  Americans  would  take,  Peter,  Skeen 
Ogden,  an  old  and  influential  factor  of  the  company,  <leparted  from 
Vancouver  with  an  armed  force  to  the  scene  of  the  tragedy.  He 
held  a  council  with  the  Cavuses  at  Fort  Walla  Walla,  and  offered  to 
rausom  the  captives,  assuring  the  Indians  that  the  company  was 
exceedingly  displeased  with  their  conduct,  and  they  would  much 
regret  it  if  they  provoked  the  Americans  to  war.  The  conference 
resulted  in  the  surrender  of  forty-seven  prisoners,  cliiefly  women 
and  children,  and  on  January  1,  fifty  Nez  Perces  arrived  with  Mr. 
Spalding  and  ten  others,  who  were  also  ransomed.  On  the  tenth 
they  all  reached  Oregon  City,  and  great  was  the  joy  of  the  people. 
For  his  humane  conduct  and  prompt  action  Peter  Ogden  should 
always  occupy  a  warm  place  in  the  heart  of  Americans;  yet  there 
are  those  who  ungratefully  accuse  him  of  attempting  to  arm  the 
Cayuses  against  the  Americans,  simply  because  a  few  guns  and  a 
little  ammunition  formed  a  portion  of  the  ransom  paid  to  deliver 
these  helpless  women  from  a  capti\'ity  which  was  woive  than  death. 
The  pen  fails  utterly  to  depict  the  teirible  sufferings  inflicted  upon 
them,  including  even  girls  of  a  tender  age,  bordering  upon  infancy. 
No  ransom  was  too  great  for  their  release. 

The  first  intelligence  received  by  the  settlers  in  t\\e  Willamette 
Valley  of  the  tragedy  at  Waiilatpu,  was  the  note  sent  to  Governor 
Abernethy  by  Dr.  McLoughlin.  The  Governor  immediately  com- 
municated it  to  the  Legislature,  then  in  session,  and  called  for  vol- 
unteers. A  public  meeting  was  held  in  Oregon  City  that  night, 
the  eighth  of  December,  and  a  company  was  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  possession  of  The  Dalles.  As  winter  had  set  in, 
there  was  no  danger  of  an  invasion  from  east  of  the  mountains 
except  by  way  of  The  Dalles.  How  much  of  a  combination  there 
was  among  the  Cayuses  and  their  neighbors  was  not  known.  Con- 
sequently it  was  necessary  to  provide  against  the  worst  that  might 
be  expected.  It  was  evident  that  a  force  at  The  Dalles  was  neces- 
sary as  a  protection  to  the  settlements  in  the  valley.  Of  this  com- 
pany Henry  A.  G.  Lee  was  elected  Captain,  and  Joseph  Magone 
and  John  E.  Ross  Lieutenants.  The  credit  of  the  Provisional 
Government  was  pledged  by  the  Legislature  to  secure  equipments 
for  the  command,  but  the  committee  which  visited  Vancouver  found 


THE  WHITMAN  MASSACRE  AND  THE  CAYUSE  WAR. 


313 


that  the  Chief  Factt  r  preferred  their  individual  responsibility. 
Upon  giving  this,  arms  were  issued  to  the  "  Oi'egon  Rifles,"  who 
reached  Vancouver  on  the  tenth  to  receive  them.  On  the  twenty- 
first  they  reached  The  Dalles  and  went  into  camp.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Legislature  entered  with  energy  upon  a  series  of  resolutions 
and  enactments  with  a  view  to  a  military  organization  of  magnitude 
sufficient  to  chastise  the  Indians,  and  the  citizens  hy  subscriptions 
and  enlistments  seconded  cordially  the  efforts  of  their  Provisional 
(xovernment.  Many  were  for  pushing  forward  into  the  enemy's 
country  at  once  with  a  formidable  force,  but  wiser  counsels  pre- 
vailed, and  nothing  was  done  likely  to  prevent  the  Indians  from 
surrendering  their  white  captives  to  Mr.  Ogden. 

In  pursuance  of  the  act  of  December  9,  a  regiment  of  fourteen 
companies  of  volunteers  was  raised  and  eipiipped  upon  the  credit  of 
the  Provisional  Government.  It  speaks  volumes  for  the  })rave  pio- 
neers of  the  Willamette  that  they  thus  responded  to  thecall  of  duty, 
supplying,  in  most  cases,  their  own  arms,  equipments  and  horses, 
without  a  mercenary  thought  entering  their  minds.  It  was  no  specu- 
lation either  by  the  %'olunteers  or  the  men  who  furnished  supplies — 
something  which  can  not  be  said  of  certain  subsequent  campaigns. 
The  following  is  a  roster  of  the  officers: — 

FIELD  AND  STAFF  OFFICERS. 

Colonel,  Cornelius  Gilliam  (accidentally  killed). 

Lieutenant-Colonel,  James  Waters  (promoted  to  Colonel). 

Major,  H.  A.  G.  Lee.  • 

Adjutant,  B.  F.  Burch. 

Surgeon,  W.  M.  Carpenter. 

Assistant  Surgeons,  F.  Snider  and  H.  Saffarans. 

Conmiissary,  Joel  Palmer. 

Quartermaster,  B.  .lennings. 

Paymaster,  L.  B.  Knox. 

Judge  Advocate,  Jacob  S.  Rinearson. 


LINE  OFFICERS. 

Company  A — 55  men— Captain,  Lawrence  Hall ;  First  Lieutenant,  H.  D.  O'Bryant; 

Second  Lieutenant,  John  Engent. 
Company  B— 43  men — Captain,  .lohn  W.  Owens ;  First  Lieutenant,  A.  F.  Rogers; 

Second  Lieutenant,  T.  C.  Shaw. 
Company  C— 84  men— Captain,  H.  J.  G.  Maxon;  First  Lieutenant,  I.  N.  Gilbert; 

Second  Lieutenant,  Wm.  P.  Pugh. 
Company  D — 36  men — Captain,  Thomas  McKay ;  First  Lieutenant,  Charles  McKay; 

Second  Lieutenant,  Alex.  McKay. 


314 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Company  D— 62  men— Captain,  PhlL  F.  Thompson  ;  First  Lieutenant,  *Ja8.  Brown; 
Second  Lieutenant,  J.  M.  Garrison. 

Company  E— 44  men— Captain,  Levi  N.  English ;  First  Lieutenant,  Wm.  Shaw ; 
Second  Lieutenant,  F.  M.  Munliers. 

Company  E— 36  men— Captain,  William  Martin ;  First  Lieutenant,  A.  E.  Garrison ; 
Second  Lieutenant,  David  Waters. 

Company  E— 63  men— Captain,  W.  P.  Pugh;  First  Lieutenant,  N.  R.  Doty;  Second 
Lieutenant,  M.  Ramsely. 

Company  G — 66  men — Captain,  James  W.  Nesmith ;  First  Lieutenant,  J.  S.  Snooltl 
Second  Lieutenant,  M.  Gilliam. 

Company  H — 19  men- Captain,  George  W.  Bennett;  First  Lieutenant,  J.  R.  Bevin; 
Second  Lieutenant,  J.  R.  Payne. 

tCompany  1—36  men— Captain,  William  Shaw ;  First  Lieutenant,  D.  Crawford ; 
Second  Lieutenant,  B.  Dario. 

Company  No.  7 — 27  men— Captain,  J.  M.  Garrison;  First  Lieutenant,  A.  E.  Garri- 
son ;  Second  Lieutenant,  John  Hersen. 

F.  S.  Water's  Guard— 57  men— Captain,  Wa.  Martin;  First  Lieutenant,  D.  Wes- 
ton; Second  Lieutenant,  B.  Taylor. 

Reorganized  Company— Captain,  John  E.  Ross;  First  Lieutenant,  D.  P.  Barnes; 
Second  Lieutenant,  W.  W.  Porter. 

Colonel  Gilliam  reached  The  Dalles  on  the  twenty-third  of 
February,  with  fifty  men,  followed  a  few  days  later  by  the. re- 
mainder of  the  regiment.  On  the  twenty-seventh  he  moved  to  the 
Des  Chutes  with  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  crossed  to  the  east 
bank,  and  sent  Major  Lee  up  that  stream  about  twenty  miles  on  a 
reconnoisance,  where  he  found  the  enemy,  engaged  them,  killed 
one,  lost  some  of  his  horses  and  returned  to  report  progress.  On 
the  twenty-ninth  Colonel  Gilliam  moved  up  the  Des  Chutes  to 
Meek's  Crossing,  at  the  mouth  of  the  cayon  in  which  Major  Lee  had 
met  the  Indians.  The  next  morning,  on  entering  the  canyon,  a 
skirmish  followed,  in  which  were  captured  from  the  hostiles,  forty 
horses,  four  head  of  cattle  and  $300  worth  of  personal  property, 
all  of  which  was  sold  by  the  Quartermaster  for  $1,400.  The  loss 
of  the  Indians  in  killed  and  wounded  was  not  known.  There  was 
one  white  man  wounded.  The  result  was  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
the  Des  Chutes  Indians.  The  command  pushed  immediately  for- 
ward to  the  Walla  Walla  country  and  reached  the  Mission  prior  to 
March  4.  On  the  way  to  that  place  a  battle  occurred  at  Sand 
Hollows,  on  the  emigrant  road,  eight  mi]*^s  east  of  the  Well  Springs. 
It  commenced  on  the  plain  where  washes  in  the  sand  make  natural 
hiding  places  for  a  foe,  and  lasted  until  towards  night.     The  volun- 

•    Died  at  Vancouver,  February  30, 1848. 

t   OrganlzedatWaUaWalla,  June  7, 1848;  mustered  out  September  28, 18tf. 
Companies  E  and  No.  7  were  consolidated  as  Company  K,  April  17, 1848. 


THE  WHITMAN  MASSACRE  AND  THE  CAYU8E  WAR. 


315 


teer  force  was  arranged  with  tlie  train  in  the  road,  protected  by 
Captain  Hall's  company.  The  companies  of  Captains  Thompson 
and  Maxon,  forming  the  left  flank,  were  on  the  north  side  of  the 
road,  and  those  of  Captains  English  and  McKay,  as  the  I'ight  flank, 
were  on  the  south  or  right  of  the  command.  Upon  McKay's  com- 
pany at  the  extreme  right  the  first  demonstration  was  made.  Five 
Crows,  the  head  chief  of  the  Cayuses,  made  some  pretensions  to  the 
possession  of  wizard  powers,  and  declared  to  his  people  that  no  ball 
from  the  white  man's  gun  could  kill  him.  Another  chief  of  that 
tribe  named  "War  Eagle,"  or  "Swallow  Ball,"  made  similar  pro- 
fessions, and  stated  that  he  could  swallow  all  the  bullets  from  the 
guns  of  the  invading  army  if  they  were  fired  at  him.  The  two 
chiefs  promised  their  people  that  Gilliam's  command  should  never 
reach  the  Umatilla  River,  and  to  demonstrate  their  invulnerability 
and  power  as  medicine  chiefs,  they  dashed  out  from  concealment, 
rode  down  close  to  the  volunteers  and  shot  a  little  dog  that  came 
out  to  bark  at  them.  Captain  McKay,  although  the  order  was  not 
to  fire,  could  hold  back  no  longer,  and  bringing  his  rifle  to  bear, 
took  deliberate  aim  and  shot  War  Eagle  through  the  head,  killing 
him  instantly.  Lieutenant  Charles  McKay  brought  his  shot  gun 
down  to  the  hollow  of  his  arm,  and  firing  without  sighting  it,  so 
severely  wounded  Five  Crows  that  he  gave  up  the  command  of  his 
warriors.  This  was  a  serious,  chilling  opening  for  the  Indians — 
two  chiefs  gone  at  the  first  onset  and  their  medicine  proved  worth- 
less— but  they  continued  the  battle  in  a  skirmishing  way,  making 
dashing  attacks  and  masterly  retreats  until  late  in  the  afternoon. 
At  one  time  during  the  engagement.  Captain  Maxon's  company 
followed  the  enemy  so  far  that  it  was  surrounded,  and  a  sharp  en- 
counter followed,  in  which  a  number  of  volunteers  were  disabled. 
In  fact,  eight  of  the  eleven  soldiers  wounded  that  day  were  of 
Maxon's  company.  Two  Indians  were  known  to  have  been  killed, 
but  the  enemy's  loss  could  not  be  known  as  they  removed  all  of 
their  wounded  and  dead  except  two. 

That  night  the  regiment  camped  on  the  battlefield  without 
water,  and  the  Indians  built  large  and  numerous  fires  along  the 
bluffs,  or  high  lands,  some  two  miles  in  advance.  The  next  day 
Colonel  Gilliam  moved  on,  and  without  incident  worthy  of  note, 
reached  Whitman's  Mission  the  third  day  after  the  battle.     The 


316 


HISTOny  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


main  body  of  Indians  ft'U  hack  towards  Snake  River,  and  a  fruit- 
lesH  atteni]>t  followed  to  induce  them  to  give  up  the  parties  who 
had  committed  the  murders  at  Waiilatpu.  Colonel  Gilliam  at  last 
determined  upon  making  a  raid  into  the  Snake  Kiver  country,  and 
in  carrying  out  this  programme  surprised  a  camp  of  Cayuses  near 
that  stream,  among  whom  were  some  of  the  murderers.  The  cap- 
tured camp  professed  friendship,  however,  and  point<d  out  the 
horses  of  Indians  on  the  hill,  which,  they  said,  l)eh)nged  to  the 
parties  Avhom  the  Colonel  was  anxious  to  kill  or  ca])ture,  stating 
that  their  owners  were  on  the  north  side  of  Snake  River,  and  be- 
yond reach.  So  well  was  their  part  acted  that  the  officers  believed 
their  statements,  proceeded  to  drive  off  the  stock  indicated,  and 
started  on  their  return.  They  soon  found  that  a  grievous  error  had 
been  committed  in  releasing  the  village,  whose  male  population 
were  soon  mounted  upon  war  horses,  and  jussailed  the  volunteers  on 
all  sides,  forcing  them  to  fight  their  way  as  they  fell  back  to  the 
Touchet  River.  Throuyh  the  whole  dav  and  even  into  the  niajht 
after  their  arrival  at  the  latter  stream,  tlie  contest  was  maintained 
— a  constant,  harassing  skirmish.  The  soldiers  drove  the  Indians 
back  again  and  again,  but  as  s<x)n  as  the  retreat  was  resumed,  the 
enemy  were  upon  them  once  more.  Finally,  after  going  into  camp 
on  the  Touchet,  Colonel  Gilliam  ordered  the  captured  stock  turned 
loose;  and  when  the  Indians  got  possession  of  it,  they  returned  to 
Snake  River  without  molesting  the  command  any  furthei-.  In  the 
struggle  on  the  Touchet,  when  the  retreating  soldiers  first  reached 
that  stream,  William  Taylor  was  mortally  wounded  by  an  Indian, 
who  sprang  up  in  the  bashes  by  the  stream  and  fired  with  but  a 
few  yards  betAveen  them,  Nathan  Olney,  afterwards  Indian  Agent, 
seeing  the  act,  rushe-t  i.pon  the  savage,  snatched  from  his  hand  a 
war  club  in  which  was  fastened  a  piece  of  iron,  and  dealt  him  a 
blow  on  the  head  with  it  with  such  force  as  to  cause  the  iron  to 
split  the  club,  and  yet  failed  to  kill  him.  He  then  closed  with  his 
antagonist  in  a  hand-to-hand  struggle,  and  soon  ended  the  contest 
with  a  knife.     There  were  no  other  casualties  reported. 

Colonel  Gilliam  started  from  the  Mission  on  the  twentieth  of 
March,  with  a  small  force  destined  to  return  fi'om  The  Dalles  with 
supplies,  while  he  was  to  continue  to  the  Willamette  and  report  to 
the  Governor.     While  camped  at  Well  Springs  he  was  killed  by 


THE  WHITMAN  MASSACRE  AND  THE  CATD8E  WAR. 


317 


th  of 
with 
jrt  to 
id  by 


an  accidental  discharge  of  a  li^un,  and  his  remains  wore  taken  to  his 
friends  west  of  the  Casca(h's  l)y  Major  Lee.  This  officer  soon  re- 
turned to  his  regiment  with  a  commission  as  Cok)nel,  Imt  finding 
Lieutenant-Coh)nel  Waters  had  been  elected  by  the  regiment  to 
that  position  in  his  absence,  he  resigned  and  iillctl  a  subordinate 
office  for  the  remain(h'r  of  his  term  of  enlistnu'ut.  The  attempt  by 
commissionei's,  who  had  been  sent  with  tlie  volunteers,  as  re([Uested 
by  the  Indians  in  a  memoi'ial  to  the  AnitM-ieans  at  the  time  the 
captives  were  ransomed,  tt>  negotiate  a  ju'aceful  solution  of  the 
difficult  problem,  failed.  They  wanted  the  Indians  to  deliver  up 
for  executittn  all  those  vvhi>  had  ind)ued  their  hands  in  l)lood  at 
Waiilatpu;  they  wislud  the  Cayuses  to  pay  all  damages  to  cmi- 
in*ant.s  caused  bv  their  beini;  robbed  or  attacked*  while  i»assin<r 
through  the  Cayuse  e(uuitry.  The  Indians  wished  nothing  of  the 
kind.  They  wanted  peace  and  to  be  let  ah)ue;  for  the  Americans 
to  call  the  account  balanced  and  ch-op  the  imitter.  The  failure  to 
agree  had  resulted  in  two  or  three  skirmishes,  one  of  them  at  least 
a  severe  test  of  sti'engtii,  in  which  the  Indians  had  received  the 
worst  of  it,  and  in  the  other  the  volunteers  had  accomplished  noth- 
ing that  could  l>e  counted  a  success.  The  Cayuses,  finding  that  no 
compromise  could  be  effected,  abandoned  their  country,  and  most  of 
them  passed  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Notliing  was  left  for  the 
volunteers  but  to  leave  the  country  also,  which  they  did,  and  the 
Cayuse  War  had  practically  ended. 

The  Cayuses,  as  a  tribe,  had  no  heart  in  the  war.  Joe  Lewis 
told  them  immediately  after  the  massacre  that  now  they  must  fight, 
and  advised  them  to  send  him  to  Salt  Lake  with  a  band  of  horses, 
to  trade  for  ammunition  with  the  Mormons.  He  started  with  a 
select  band  of  aninuds,  accompanied  by  two  young  braves;  and  a 
few  days  later  one  of  them  returned  with  the  intelligence  that  Joe 
Lewis  had  killed  his  companion  and  decamped  with  the  horses;  and 
this  was  the  last  the  Cayuses  saw  of  the  scheming  villain.  Thus 
matters  stood  until  the  spring  of  1850,  when  the  Cayuses  were  given 
to  understand  that  peace  could  be  procured  by  delivering  up  the 
murderers  for  punishment.  At  that  time  Tam-su-ky  and  his  sup- 
porters, including  many  relatives  who  had  not  in  any  manne)  par- 
ticipated in  the  massacre,  were  hiding  in  the  mountains  at  the  head 
of  John  Day  River.     The  Indians  who  desired  peace  went  after 


318 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


them,  and  a  fight  ensued,  ending  i;i  the  capture  of  nearly  all  of  the 
outlawed  band.  In  this  fight  "  Cutmouth  John,"  an  Indian  well 
known  in  Umatilla,  while  endeavoring  to  capture  one  of  the  mur- 
derers, received  the  wound  which  gave  rise  to  his  peculiar  appella- 
tion. Only  one  of  the  five  actually  engaged  in  the  bloody  work  at 
Waiilatpu  (so  the  Whitman  Indians  assert)  was  captured,  and  he 
was  Ta-ma-has,  an  ugly  villain  whom  his  countrymen  called  "  The 
Murderer."  It  was  he  who  commenced  the  work  of  death  at 
Waiilatpu  by  burying  a  hatchet  in  Dr.  AVhitman's  In-ain.  Taking 
him  and  four  others,  several  of  the  older  men  and  chiefs  went  to 
Oregon  City  to  deliver  them  up  as  hostages.  They  were  at  once 
thrown  into  prison,  condemned  and  executed  at  Oregon  City  on 
June  3,  1850;  and  even  the  ones  who  had  escorted  them,  in  view 
of  this  summary  proceeding,  congratulated  themselves  upon  theu' 
safe  return.  They  believed  that  Ta-ma-has  should  have  been 
hanged,  but  not  the  others;  and  to  this  opinion  the  few  sur\'ivors 
of  the  tribe  cling  to  the  present  day. 


CHAPIER  XIX. 


OREGON  BECOMES  AN  ORGANIZED  TERRITORY. 


Neim  Brought  hy  Emigrants  in  18^7  very  Disheartening — Letter  of 
Senator  Benton— J.  Quinn  Thornton  Sent  to  Washington  to  Urge 
Legislation — Incidents  of  his  Journey — Joseph  L.  Meek  sent  to 
Washington  after  the  Whitnu  n  Massacre — Ills  Mid-  Winter  Journey 
— Interesting  Accoxint  of  the  Contest  in  the  Senate  over  the  Oregon 
Bill — General  Joseph  Lr^x  Appointed  Governor — Ilis  Trip  Over- 
land— Organisation  of  the  Goverment — Officers  of  the  Old  aitd  New 
Governments — Census  of  ISJfi — Discovery  of  Gold  in  California — 
Beaver  Money. 


ALTHOUGH  the  treaty  settling  the  bouuciary  line  was  signed 
and  proclaimed  in  the  summer  of  1846,  Congress,  the  foUovi^- 
ing  winter,  failed  to  pass  any  act  creating  a  government  for  the 
people  of  Oregon,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  more  than  ten 
thousand  Americans  were  thus  denied  the  protection  of  the  General 
Government.  An  appropriation,  however,  was  made  for  mail  ser- 
vice to  Oregon  via  Panama;  an  Indian  Agent  was  appointed,  also 
a  postmaster  (iach  for  Astoria  and  Oregon  City.  One  of  these 
officials,  Mr.  Shively,  brought  with  him  two  letters  for  the  people 
of  Oregon.  One  was  from  James  Buchannan,  Secretary  of  State, 
expressing  the  deep  regret  of  President  Polk  that  Congress  had 
neglected  them,  and  af^suring  them  that  he  would  do  all  in  his 
power  to  aid  them,  iui'luding  occasional  visits  from  vessels  of  war 
and  the  presence  of  a  regiment  of  dragoons  to  protect  the  emigrants. 
The  other  was  from  Thomas  H.  Benton,  explaining  the  situation  of 
affairs  at  Washington,  where  it  was  dated  in  March,  1847.  Senator 
Benton's  letter  ran  as  follows: — 


320 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Washington  City,  March,  1847. 

My  friendp  (for  such  I  may  call  many  of  you  from  personal  acquaintance,  all  of 
you  from  my  thirty  years'  devotion  to  the  interests  of  your  country) — I  think  it 
right  to  make  tliis  communication  to  you  at  the  present  nioment  when  the  adjourn- 
ment of  Congress,  without  passing  the  bill  for  your  government  and  protection, 
seems  to  have  left  you  in  a  state  of  abandonment  by  your  mother  country.  But 
such  is  not  the  case.  You  are  not  abandoned !  Nor  will  you  be  denied  protection 
unless  you  agree  to  admit  slavery.  I,  a  man  of  the  Houth,  and  a  slaveholder,  tell 
you  this. 

The  House  of  Representatives,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  .January,  had  passed 
the  bill  to  give  you  a  territorial  government ;  and  in  that  bill  had  sanctioned  and 
legalized  your  Provisional  Organic  Act,  one  of  the  clauses  of  which  forever  pro- 
hibited the  existence  of  slavery  in  Oregon. 

An  amfndment  from  the  Senate's  committee,  to  which  this  bill  was  referred, 
proposed  to  ;'.brogate  that  prohibition ;  and  in  the  delays  and  vexations  to  which 
that  amendment  gave  rise,  the  whole  bill  was  laid  upon  the  table  and  Ijst  'or  the 
session.  'JMiis  will  lie  a  great  disupjiointntent  to  you  and  a  real  lu)  .  Jitj  'oady 
five  years  witliout  law  or  legal  iiLstitutions  for  the  protection  of  li  .'■'  ^  and 
property,  and  now  doomed  to  wait  a  year  longer.  Tliis  is  a  strange  aiid  f..(  imalous 
condition,  almost  incredible  to  contem])late,  and  most  criti  al  to  endure!  A  colony 
of  free  men,  four  thousand  miles  from  the  metropolitan  government  to  preserve 
them!  But  do  not  be  alarmed  or  desperate.  You  will  not  be  outlawed  for  not  ad- 
mitting slavery. 

Your  fundamental  act  against  that  institution,  copied  from  the  Ordinance  of 
1787  (the  work  of  the  great  men  of  the  South,  in  the  great  day  of  the  South,  pro- 
hibiting slavery  in  a  territory  far  less  northern  than  yours),  will  not  be  abrogated! 
Nor  is  that  the  intention  of  the  prime  nu)ver  of  tlie  amendment.  Upon  the  record 
of  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  Senate  is  the  author  of  that  amendment,  but  not 
so  the  fact.  It  is  only  midwife  to  it.  Its  author  is  the  same  mind  that  generated 
the  "  Kire  IJrand  Resolutions,"  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy,  and  of  which  the 
amendment  is  the  legitimate  derivation.  Oregon  is  not  the  oliject.  The  most  rabid 
propagandist  of  slavery  can  not  expect  to  plant  it  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  in  the 
latitude  of  Wisconsin  and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  A  home  agitation  for  election  and 
disunion  purposes,  is  all  that  is  intended  by  thrusting  this  tire  brand  question  into 
your  bill  as  it  ought  to  be.  I  promise  you  this  in  the  name  of  the  South,  as  well 
of  the  North  ;  and  the  event  will  not  deceive  me.  In  the  meantime,  the  PresiUi  i 
will  give  you  all  the  protection  which  existing  laws  can  enable  him  to  extend  toyoo, 
and  until  Congress  has  time  to  act,  yoiu'  friends  must  rely  ii|)on  you  to  continue  to 
govern  yourselves  t^s  you  have  heretofore  done  under  tli<  iirovisions  of  your  own 
voluntary  compact,  and  with  the  justice,  harmony  and  moderation  whi'^h  is  due  to 
your  own  character  and  to  the  hont.r  of  the  American  name. 

I  send  you,  by  Mr.  Shively,  a  copy  of  the  bill  of  the  late  session,  both  as  it 
passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  as  proposed  to  be  amended  in  the  Senate, 
with  the  Senate's  vote  upon  laying  it  on  the  table,  and  a  cony  of  Mr.  Calhoim's 
resolutions  (posterior  in  date  to  the  amendment,  but  ueverllu4(  -  ii  father);  also  a 
copy  of  your  own  Provisional  Organic  Act,  printed  by  order  •'•  Senate;  all  of 
which  will  put  you  completely  in  possession  of  the  proceedings  of  Congret  ^a 
your  petition  for  a  territorial  government,  and  for  the  protection  and  secu.',  )f 
your  rights. 

In  conclusion,  T  have  to  assure  you  that  the  wame  spirit  wliicli  has  made  nje  i ';. 
Mend  of  Oregon  for  thirty  years— which  led  me  to  denounci'  the  joint  occupation 
treaty  the  day  it  was  made,  and  to  oppose  its  renewal  in  18-8.  anU  to  labor  for  its 
abrogation  uutil  It  waa  tHnuiuated;  the  sane    plr!t  wb.ea  l"d  in-^  (o  reveal  the 


OREGON  BECOMES  AN  ORGANIZED  TERRITORY. 


3?,1 


grand  destiny  of  Oregon  in  articles  written  in  1818,  and  to  support  every  measure 
for  her  benefit  since — the  same  spirit  still  animates  me  and  will  continue  to  do  so 
while  I  live — which  I  hope  will  be  long  enough  to  see  an  emporium  of  Asiatic  com- 
merce at  the  mouth  of  your  river  and  a  stream  of  Asiatic  trade  pouring  into  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  through  the  channel  of  Oregon. 

Your  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 

The  assurance  contained  in  these  letters  that  powerful  friends 
were  laboring  in  their  interests,  was  a  cheering  thought  amidst  the 
disappointment  of  the  unfavorable  intelligence.  It  was  felt  that  a 
representative  direct  from  Oregon  would  be  able  to  accomplish 
much,  and  Hon.  J.  Quinn  Thornton,  Supreme  Judge  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government,  had  been,  during  the  past  year,  frequently 
urged  by  influential  men,  to  proceed  to  Washington  and  lal)or  with 
Congress  in  behalf  of  Oregon.  In  particular  had  the  lamented 
Dr.  Whitman  requested  him  to  do  so,  asserting  that  only  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  strong  Territorial  Grovernment,  one  that  the  Indians 
would  recognize  as  powerful,  would  "  save  him  and  his  mission  from 
falling  under  the  murderous  hands  of  savages."  Mr.  Thornton  recog- 
nized the  importance  of  such  a  delegate,  ii^id  solicited  Hon.  Peter  H. 
Burnett,  subsequently  the  first  Governor  of  California,  to  undertake 
the  mission,  but  without  success.  The  news  of  the  state  of  affairs 
at  Washington  l)rought  by  Mr.  Shively,  decided  Mr.  Thornton,  and 
on  the  eighteenth  of  October,  1847,  having  resigned  his  judicial 
office,  he  departed  on  his  arckious  mission,  armed  with  a  letter  from 
Governor  Abernethy  to  President  Polk.  Mr.  Thornton  was  by  no 
means  a  regularly  constitute<l  delegate,  since  Oregon  was  not 
authorized  to  accredit  such  an  official  to  Congress,  but  simply  went 
as  a  private  indiNndual,  ^presenting  in  an  unofficial  manner  the  Gov- 
ernor and  many  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Oregon.  In  fact  the 
Legislature,  deeming  its  fui^ctions  Infringed  upon  by  this  action  of 
the  Governor,  passed  resolution.;  embodying  their  idea  of  tlie  harm 
done  the  colony  hy  ':he  officiousness  of  "  secret  factions."  There 
was  not  ready  money  enough  in  the  treasury  to  have  paid  the  pas- 
sage of  Mr.  Thornton,  even  had  it  been  at  his  disposal.  A  collec- 
tion was  taken  up,  contributions  being  made  partly  in  coin  but 
chiefly  in  flour,  clothing,  and  any  thing  that  could  be  of  service  or 
\vas  convertible  into  money.  A  contract  was.  made  with  Captain 
Roland  Gelston,  of  the  bark  Whiiiony  t-o  convey  Mr.  Thornton  to 


m 


322 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


■v,. 


Panama,  aud  the  vessel  sailed  at  once  for  San  Franci&co,  and  thence 
to  San  Juan,  on  the  coast  of  Lower  California.  Here  the  Captain 
infonned  his  passenger  that  he  must  decline  to  fulfill  his  contract, 
as  he  desired  to  engage  in  the  coasting  trade.  From  the  perplex- 
ing dilemma  he  was  extricated  by  Captain  Montgomery,  command- 
ing the  United  States  sloop  of  war  Portsmouth,  then  lying  at 
anchor  in  the  harbor.  This  gentleman  deemed  the  mission  of  Mr. 
Thornton  of  sufficient  importance  to  the  Government  to  justify  him 
in  leaviiiff  his  station  and  returning  with  his  vessel  to  the  Atlantic 
Coat^;  ^I*'  accordingly  tendered  the  delegate  the  hospitalities  of 
his  cab»  d  set  sail  as  soon  as  preparations  could  be  made  for 
the  voyaj.^.  The  Portsmouth  arrived  in  Boston  Harbor  on  the 
second  of  May,  1848,  and  Mr.  Thornton  at  once  hastened  to  Wash- 
ington to  consult  with  President  Polk  and  Senators*  Benton  and 
Douglas,  those  warm  champions  of  Oregon,  as  to  the  proper  course 
to  pui-sut.  By  them  he  was  advised  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  be 
presented  to  Congress,  setting  forth  the  condition  and  needs  of  the 
l)eople  rt'hom  he  represented.  This  he  did,  and  the  document  was 
p^  esentetl  to  the  Senate  by  Mr  Benton  and  was  printed  for  the  use 
of  both  branches  of  Congress. 

There  was  still  another  representative  of  the  people  of  Oregon 
at  Wa-sbington  that  session  of  Congi'ess — one  with  even  better 
credential^  than  Mr.  Thornton.  Tliis  was  Joseph  L.  Meek,  the 
mountairjit^ei"  and  ti*apper,  who  had  taken  such  a  prominent  part  in 
organizing  the  Provisional  Government.  When,  about  six  weeks 
after  the  departure  of  Judge  Thornton,  the  massacre  of  Whitman 
at  Waiilatpu  plunged  the  settlers  into  a  state  of  mingled  grief  and 
alarm,  it  was  thought  necessary  to  dispatch  a  messenger  at  once  to 
Washington  to  impart  the  intelligence,  impress  the  authorities  with 
the  precarious  situation  of  the  colony,  and  appeal  for  protection. 
Winter  had  set  in  with  all  its  rigors  in  the  mountains.  The  terrible 
journey  made  at  that  season  six  years  before  by  Dr.  Whitman,  on 
his  patriotic  mission,  the  same  person  whose  martyrdom  now  ren- 
dered a  second  journey  necessary,  was  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all, 
and  appalled  the  stoutest  heart.  Mr.  Thornton  had  taken  ihe 
longer,  but  safer,  route  by  sea,  but  time  was  too  precious,  too  much 
was  at  staJke,  to  admit  of  the  delay  such  a  journey  would  impose, 
even  if  d;te  veseel  were  at  hand  to  afiord  the  means.     Notihing  but 


OREGON  BECOMES  AN  ORGANIZED  TERRITORY. 


323 


regon 
setter 

the 
iii-t  in 

eeks 
tman 

and 
nee  to 

with 
ction. 
rrible 
an,  on 
IV  ren- 
of  all, 
n  the 

much 
mpose, 
ig  but 


a  trip  across  the  thousands  of  miles  of  suow-bound  mountains,  plains 
and  deserts,  would  be  of  any  avail.  In  the  emergency  all  turned  to 
Joseph  L.  Meek  as  the  one  man  in  their  midst  whose  intrepid 
courage,  gi'eat  powers  of  physical  endurance,  long  experience  in 
mountain  life  and  familiarity  with  the  routes  of  travel  and  Indian 
tribes  to  be  encountered,  rendered  him  capable  of  undertaking  the 
task  with  a  good  prospect  of  success.  Unhesitatingly  he  accepted 
the  mission,  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Legislature,  received  his  cre- 
dentials as  a  delegate  from  that  body,  and  set  out  on  the  fourth  of 
January  for  Washington,  accompanied  by  John  Owens  and  George 
Ebbetts,  wlio  decided  to  go  with  him  and  avail  themselves  of  his 
services  as  guide  and  director. 

At  The  Dalles  thej"  '"ere  forced  to  delay  several  weeks  until  the 
arrival  of  the  Oregon  volu.  teers  I'endered  it  safe  for  them  to  proceed, 
since  the  whole  upper  country  was  overrun  by  hostile  Indians. 
They  accompanied  tlie  troops  to  Waiilatpu,  where  Meek  had  the 
mournful  satisfaction  of  assisting  in  the  burial  of  the  victims  of  Cay- 
use  treachery,  among  whom  was  his  own  daughter,  and  then  were 
escorted  by  a  company  of  troops  to  the  base  of  the  Blue  Mountains, 
where  they  finally  entered  upon  their  long  and  solitary  journey. 
By  avoiding  the  Indians  as  much  as  possible,  and  whenever 
encountered  by  them  representing  themseh'es  as  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  men,  they  reached  Fort  Boise  in  safety.  Here  two  of 
four  new  volunteers  for  the  journey  bectmie  discouraged  and  de- 
cided to  remain.  The  other  ^we  travelers  pushed  on  to  Fort  Hall, 
saving  themselves  from  the  clutches  of  the  Bannacks  only  by  Meek's 
experience  in  dealing  with  savages.  It  is  needless  to  recount  the 
many  hardships  they  endured,  the  sleepless  nights  and  diuner- 
If'ss  days,  the  accidents,  dangers,  fatigues,  narrow  escapes  from 
liostile  Indians  and  the  thousand  discomforts  and  misadventures  to 
which  they  were  subjected.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  through  all  these 
they  passed  in  safety,  never  forgetting  for  an  instant  the  impera- 
tive necessity  for  haste,  and  never  flinching  from  the  trials  that  lay 
in  their  pathway.  The  hearty  invitation  to  spend  a  few  weeks  here 
or  there  in  the  few  places  where  they  encountered  friends  and  com- 
fortable quarters,  was  resolutely  declined,  and  with  only  sudi  delay 
us  was  absolutely  required,  they  plunged  again  into  the  snowy 
mountain  passes  with  their  faces  resolutely  set  towards  the  rising 


324 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


sun.  They  reached  St.  Joseph  in  but  little  more  than  two  months 
after  leaving  the  Willamette  Valley,  having  made  the  quickest  trip 
across  the  continent  that  had  yet  been  accomplished  at  any  season 
of  the  year.  Meek  was  now  reduced  to  most  embarassing  straits. 
Dressed  in  buckskin  and  blanket  clothes  and  wolf  skin  cap,  ragged 
and  dirty  in  the  extreme,  beard  and  hair  long  and  unkempt,  with- 
out money  or  friends,  how  to  get  to  Washington  or  how  to  conduct 
himself  when  there,  were  perplexing  questions.  lie  decided  that 
the  best  way  to  accomplish  his  purpose  was  to  be  "Jo  Meek."  By 
assuming  an  air  of  great  importance  at  one  time,  making  a  clown  of 
himself  at  another,  and  generally  interesting  every  one  he  met  in 
himself  and  his  mission,  he  succeeding  in  reaching  Washington  only 
a  week  or  two  later  than  Judge  Thornton,  though  his  news  from 
Oregon  was  three  months  fresher.  Meek  was  a  relative  of  the 
President,  and  was  well  cared  for  during  his  stay  in  the  Capital 
City.  The  intelligence  brought  by  him,  as  well  as  his  individual 
efforts,  did  much  to  aid  Mr.  Thornton  and  the  friends  of  Oregon  in 
Congress  in  securing  the  desired  leg'slatiou. 

In  addition  to  the  memorial.  Judge  Thornton  drafted  a  bill  for 
organizing  a  Territorial  Government,  which  was  introduced  and 
placed  up  <n  its  passage.  This  bill  contained  a  clause  prohibiting 
slavery,  and  for  this  reason  was  as  objectionable  to  the  slaveholding 
force  in  Congress  as  had  been  the  previous  one.  Under  the  lead 
of  Senators  Jefferson  Davis  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  this  wing  of  the 
National  Legislature  made  a  vigorous  onslaught  upon  the  bill, 
and  fought  its  progress  step  by  step  with  unabated  determination, 
resorting  to  all  the  legislative  tactics  known,  to  so  delay  its  consid- 
eration that  it  could  not  be  finally  passed  by  the  hour  of  noon  on 
the  fourteenth  of  August,  the  time  fixed  by  joint  resolution  for  the 
close  of  that  session  of  Congress.  The  contest  during  the  last  two 
days  of  the  session  was  exciting  in  the  extreme,  and  the  feeling  in- 
tense throughout  the  Union.  The  friends  of  the  bill  had  decided 
upon  a  policy  of  "masterly  inactivity,"  refraining  entirely  fi'om 
debate  and  yielding  the  floor  absolutely  to  the  "filibusters,"  who 
were  therefore  much  distressed  for  means  to  consume  the  slowly 
passing  hours.  Though  silent  in  speech  they  were  constantly 
present  in  force  to  prevent  the  opposition  from  gaining  time  by  an 
adjuurumeut.     The  bill  was  then  on  its  second  passage  in  the  Sen- 


OREGON  BECOMES  AN  ORGANIZED  TERRITORY. 


m$ 


ate,  for  the  purpose  of  concurrence  with  amendments  which  had 
been  added  by  the  House.  On  Saturday  morning,  August  12,  the 
managers  of  the  bill  decided  to  prevent  an  adjournment  until  it  had 
been  disposed  of,  having  a  sufficient  majority  to  pass  it.  The  story 
of  that  memorable  contest  is  thus  told  by  Mr.  Thornton,  who  sat 
throughout  the  scene  an  earnest  spectator  : — 

I  re-entered  the  Senate  Chamber  with  the  deepest  feelings  of  solicitude,  and  yet 
liopeful  because  of  the  assurances  which  had  been  given  to  nie  by  the  gentleman  I 
have  named  [Douglas,  Benton  and  Hale.]  I  soon  saw,  however,  that  Calhoun  and 
Butler,  of  Houtli  Carolina  ;  Davis  and  Foote,  of  Mississippi ;  and  Hunter  and  Mason, 
of  Virginia,  as  leaders  of  the  opposition,  had  girded  up  their  loins  and  Ijuckled  on 
their  armor  for  tlio  battle. 

When  I  explain  a  little  the  reader  will  not  be  surprised  that  I  felt  very  nervous. 
The  bill  had  previously  been  in  the  Senate  and  having  pas.sed  went  down  to  the 
House  where  it  was  amended,  and  now  it  had  come  back  for  concurrence.  The 
debate  when  the  bill  was  lirst  in  the  Senate  was  one  of  thrilling  inter(!st.  "  Tliere 
were  giants  in  those  days,"  and  the  Held  on  which  they  fought  and  measured 
strength  with  each  other  was  one  in  which  no  man  could  be  at  a  loss  to  find  a  foe- 
man  worthy  of  his  steel,  since  here  might  be  encountered  such  mightj'  men  as 
Douglas  and  Benton,  Webster,  Calhoun  and  Corwin.  The  last  named  gentleman 
having  gotten  the  Hoor  in  the  debate  on  tlie  Oregon  bill,  the  Senate  adjourned.  In 
this  manner  it  became  known  at  once  throughout  the  city  that  Mr.  Corwin  would  on 
the  next  day,  after  tlie  preliminary  business  of  the  morning  hour  had  been  disposed 
of,  address  the  Senate  on  that  bill— the  provision  in  it  taken  from  the  ordinance  of 
1787,  prohiliiting  shivery  being  the  point  of  his  departure,  and  human  rights  the 
subject  of  his  address.  At  an  early  hour  the  gallery  was  literally  i)acked  full  of  the 
elite  and  beauty  of  the  capital,  most  of  them  being  brought  hither  by  an  unconquer- 
able desire  to  witness  the  triumph  of  right  over  wrong  and  of  reason  over  passion 
which  they  felt  sure  would  be  achieved  by  their  favorite  orator's  burning  words 
consuming  to  ashes  the  sophisms  relied  upon  by  the  advocates  of  slavery  to  defend 
the  most  gigantic  evil  that  ever  cursed  a  nation  or  stained  its  escutcheon.  On  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  were  diplomatic  representatives  from  every  Court  in  Europe, 
already  imi)atient  to  drink  in  the  Inspiration  of  the  wonderful  eloquence  of  an 
orator  who  liad  no  equal  in  some  respects  and  no  superior  in  any. 

The  preliminary  business  of  the  morning  hour  having  been  hurried  through, 
Mr.  Corwin,  of  Ohio,  rose  to  his  feet ;  and  during  two  hours  commencing  with  his 
saying  "Mr.  President,"  and  ending  with  the  close  of  his  wonderful  address,  no 
other  sound  was  heard  save  occasionally  that  of  one  who  seemed  to  catch  at  his 
ureath,  and  no  movement  could  be  seen  save  in  the  varying  muscles  of  the  faces  of 
the  listening  hearers  as  the  orator's  matchless  manner,  melodious  voice,  and  ready 
command  of  most  apt  language  alternately  melted  the  heart  into  pity  or  kindled  it 
into  resentment,  while,  with  inimitable  skill  and  unequaled  power,  he  portrayed 
"  the  sum  of  all  villainies." 

This  description  of  the  effects  of  the  address  does  not  of  course  appiy  to  such  of 
his  hearers  as  were  the  advocates  of  "the  patriarchal  Institution."  The  faces  of 
these  seemed  at  times  to  be  as  much  blanched  with  fear  as  would  that  of  a  nervous 
woman  on  being  suddenly  confronted  by  a  death's  head.  At  o*her  times  the  face 
was  equally  white,  yet  the  compressed  lips,  and  the  flashing  eye  and  a  peculiar  ex- 
pression of  the  countenance  as  clearly  as  language  could  speak,  showed  that  the 
heart  was  a  burning  volcano  of  the  most  fiery  passions  in  the  throes  of  a  terrible 
eruption. 


326 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


When  Mr.  Corwin  closed  his  lueinorable  speech,  there  seemed  to  be  quite  an  in- 
terval before  those  who  heard  gained  their  self-recollection,  and  a  motion  was  made 
for  the  adjournment  of  the  Senate.  As,  with  others,  I  was  slowly  and  thoughtfully 
retiring.  Father  Hiohie,  the  most  venerable  journalist  in  the  United  States,  a  life- 
long advocate  of  slavery,  and  at  that  time  editor  of  the  government  organ,  nervously 
laid  his  hand  upon  my  shoulder,  and  with  lips  as  white  as  paper  and  ((uivcring  with 
emotion,  he  said:  "A  few  speeches  such  as  that  would  sever  the  bonds  of  this 
Union!" 

With  such  a  scene  as  this  fresli  in  my  memory,  the  reader  will  not  he  surprised 
if  on  Saturday  morning,  tlie  12th  of  August,  1848,  I  felt,  after  my  interview  with 
Mr.  Benton,  Mr.  Douglas  and  Mr.  Hale,  anxious  for  the  results  of  the  day's  pro- 
ceedings on  the  bill  returned  for  concurrence  in  the  amendments  made  in  the 
House. 

The  friends  of  the  bill,  led  by  Mr.  Benton,  having  taken  their  position,  waiteil 
calmly  for  the  onset  of  their  adversaries,  who  spent  Saturday  until  the  usual  hour 
of  adjournment  in  skirmishing  in  force,  as  if  feeling  the  strength  of  their  op|x)- 
nents.  When  the  motion  was  made  at  the  usual  time  in  the  afternoon  for  adjourn- 
ment, the  friends  of  the  bill  came  pouring  oiit  of  the  retiring  rooms,  and  on  coming 
inside  the  bar  they  voted  No  with  very  marked  emphasis.  I  ought,  perhaps  to  ex- 
plain that  when  many  of  the  friends  of  the  Oregon  bill  went  into  this  room  to  rest 
upon  lounges,  and  to  smoke  and  chat  and  tell  anecdotes,  they  left  behind  a  trusty 
cori>s  to  oliserve  the  niovciiients  of  the  enemy,  and  through  a  vigilant  page  stationed 
at  the  door  to  give  notice  when  it  was  necessary,  to  rise  and  rush  inside  the  bar  to 
vote  No  on  all  motions  for  adjournment. 

This  state  of  affairs  continued  until  after  night  when  Judge  Butler,  of  South 
Carolina,  being  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  resorted  to  a  sort  of  legislative  fili- 
bustering with  a  view  to  thrusting  aside  the  Oregon  bill,  under  a  motion  to  go  into 
executive  session  for  the  purj.ose  of  enquiring  into  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Benton,  who, 
he  alleged,  had  communicated  to  Dr.  Wallace,  tlie  reporter  of  the  New  York  Herald, 
sonje  things  that  had  been  said  and  done  in  secret  session.  During  his  remarks, 
Judge  Butler  diaracterized  Mr.  Benton's  conduct  as  ueing  "(/(V/owoz-afe/c."  This 
word  had  only  been  i)ronounced  when  Mr.  Benton  si)rang  to  his  feet  in  great  anger, 
and  advancing  rapidly  toward  Judge  Butler  with  his  clenched  list  and  violently 
gesticulating,  said:  "Voulie,  sir!  You  lie!!  I  cram  the  lie  down  your  throat !!  I" 
Both  men  wore  long  hair  that  age  had  made  as  white  as  wool,  and  yet  they  were 
only  kept  from  viv.lence  on  the  tloor  of  the  Senate  Chamber  by  (Jen.  Dix,  of  New 
York,  Mason,  of  Virginia,  and  others,  who,  by  placing  themselves  lietween  the 
venerable  Senators,  prevented  them  from  coming  to  blows.  Thus  restrained.  Judge 
Butler  said  to  Mr.  Benton  in  a  very  loud  and  angry  tone,  "  1  will  see  you,  sir,  at 
another  time  and  place."  Mr.  Benton  inunediately  rejoined  in  great  heat,  "Yes, 
sir,  you  can  see  me  at  any  other  time  and  in  any  other  place;  but  you  and  j'our 
friends  will  take  notice  that  when  I  tight,  I  fight  for  a  funeral." 

Order  being  at  length  restored,  the  vote  was  taken  on  Judge  Butler's  motion  to 
go  into  executive  session,  and  the  real  object  of  the  motion  being  seen  to  be  the  de- 
feat of  the  Oregon  bill  through  the  consumption  of  time,  it  was  lost. 

Gen.  Foote,  the  colleague  of  JefT.  Davis,  then  arose  and  in  a  drawling  tone,  as- 
sumed for  the  occasion,  said  his  powers  of  endurance  he  believed  would  enable  him 
to  continue  his  address  to  tlie  Senate  until  Monday,  12  o'clock  M.,  and  alth'High  he 
could  not  promise  to  say  much  on  the  subject  of  the  Oregon  bill,  he  could  not  doubt 
that  he  would  be  able  to  interest  and  greatly  edify  distinguished  Senators.  The 
friends  of  the  bill,  seeing  what  was  before  them,  posted  a  page  in  the  doorway  open- 
ing into  one  of  the  retiring  rooms,  and  then,  after  detailing  a  few  of  their  number  to 
keep  watch  and  ward  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  withdrew  into  the  room  of  which 


OREGON  BECOMES  AN  OKGANIZED  TERRITORY, 


327 


I  have  spoken  to  chat  and  tell  anecdotes  and  to  drink  wine,  or,  perhaps,  something 
even  much  8tronji;er,  and  thus  to  wear  away  the  slowly  and  heavily  passing  hours 
of  that  memorable  Saturday  night.  Soon  groat  clouds  of  smoke  fllk'd  thf  room,  and 
from  it  issued  the  sound  of  the  chink  of  glasses  aJul  of  loud  conversation,  almost 
drowning  the  eloquence  of  the  Misslssip])!  Senator  as  he  repeated  the  l$il)le  story  of 
the  cosmogony  of  the  world,  the  creation  of  man,  tlie  taking  from  his  side  the  rib 
from  which  Eve  was  made,  her  talking  with  the  "  snake,"  us  he  called  the  Kvil  One, 
the  fall  of  man,  etc.,  etc.  The  galleries  were  soon  deserted.  Many  of  tlio  aged 
Senators  piostrated  themselves  upon  the  sofas  in  one  of  the  retiring  rooms,  and 
8luml)ered  soundly,  while  "  thought^i  that  breathed  and  words  that  burned  "  fell  in 
glowing  elo(|Ucnce  from  the  lips  of  the  Mississippi  Senator,  as  he  continued  thus  to 
instruct  and  edify  the  few  watching  friends  of  the  bill,  who,  notwithstanding  the 
weight  of  seventy  winters  pressed  heavily  upon  some  of  them,  were  as  wide  awake 
as  the  youngest,  and  they  sat  firm  and  erect  in  their  seats,  watching  witli  lynx  eyes 
every  movement  of  the  adversaries  of  the  bill. 

At  intervals  of  about  one  hour,  the  speaker  would  yield  the  Hoor  to  a  motion  for 
adjournment,  coming  from  the  opposition.  Then  the  sentinel  j)age  at  the  door 
would  give  notice  to  the  waking  Senators  in  the  retiring  room,  and  these  would  im" 
mediately  arouse  the  slumbering  Senators,  and  all  would  then  rush  pell-mell 
through  the  doorway,  and  when  the  inside  of  the  bar  was  reached,  would  vote  No 
with  a  thundering  emphasis. 

It  liai)pened,  however,  on  more  occasions  than  one,  that  a  sleeping  Senator,  not 
yet  quite  awake,  even  after  getting  inside  the  bar,  voted  "aye,"  then  "nay,"  and 
then  "aye,"  and  finally  "  nay  "  again,  to  the  great  amusement  of  those  who  were 
sufficiently  wide  awake  to  see  where  the  laugh  came  in. 

Occasionally  southern  Senators  toward  Sunday  morning  relieved  Gen.  Foote 
by  short,  dull  8])eeche9,  to  which  the  friends  of  the  bill  vouchsafed  no  answer ;  so 
that  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  pro-slavery  subordinates  had  things  for  the  mo.st  part  all 
their  own  way  until  Sabbath  morning,  August  13th,  1848,  at  about  8  o'clock,  when 
the  leading  opponents  of  the  bill  collected  together  in  a  knot,  and  after  conversing 
together  a  short  time  in  an  under  tone,  the  Mississippi  Senator,  who  had  been  so 
very  edifying  and  entertaining  during  tlie  night,  said  that  no  further  opposition 
would  be  made  to  taking  a  vote  on  the  bill.  The  ayes  and  nayes  were  then  called 
and  the  bill  pa.ssed. 

President  Polk  affixed  his  signtiture  to  the  bill  within  a  few 
hours  after  its  jiassage.  To  have  the  Territorial  Government  fully 
organized  before  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  on  the  fourth 
of  the  succeeding  March,  was  earnestly  desired  by  him,  in  view  of 
the  circumstances  attending  his  election.  He  appointed  Meek  the 
United  States  Marshal  of  the  new  Territory,  and  delegated  him  to 
convey  the  Governor's  commission  to  General*  Joseph  Lane,  then 
residing  in  Indiana  and  unaware  of  the  duty  about  to  be  imposed 
upon  him,  for  such,  under  the  circumstances,  it  really  was.  With 
that  promptness  of  decision  and  energy  of  action  so  characteristic 
of  him — ({ualities  which  won  him  the  title  of  the  "  Marion  of  the 
Mexican  War" — General  Lane  accepted  the  commission  without 
hesitation,  and  in  three  days  had  disposed  of  his  property,  wound 


828 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


up  his  business  afFjiirs,  and  begun  his  journey  to  the  far-off  wilds  of 
Oregon.  A  small  detachment  of  troops  escorted  the  Governor  and 
Mai'shal,  and  after  a  journey  of  six  months,  by  the  way  of  Mexico 
and  Arizona,  seven  only  of  them  reached  San  Francisco,  two  hav- 
ing died  and  the  others  succumbed  to  the  allurements  of  the  new 
gold  fields  of  the  Sierras.  These  seven  were  Governor  Lane, 
Marshal  Meek,  Lieutenant  Hawkins,  Surgeon  Hayden,  and  three 
enlisted  men.  At  San  Francisco  they  took  passage  on  the  schooner 
Jean  net  te,  and  reacli(>d  the  Columbia  after  a  rough  passage  of 
eighteen  days.  Ascending  the  Colunil>ia  and  Willamette  in  small 
boats,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  they  de1)arked 
at  Oregon  City  on  the  second  of  March,  184:^>.  The  following  day 
Governor  Lane  issued  a  proclamation  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his 
office,  having  succeeded  in  instituting  the  (Tovernment  just  one  day 
prior  to  the  close  of  President  Polk's  administration.  Other  officers 
of  the  Territory  did  not  arrive  till  several  months  later.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  roster  of  the  first  offioei's  of  the  Territoi-ial  Government, 
and  those  of  the  Provisional  Government  at  the  time  of  its  dissolu- 
tion : — 

PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 

Governor,  George  Abernethy ;  Secretary,  S.  M.  Holderness  ; 
Treasurer,  John  H.  Couch  ;  Auditor,  Geo.  AV.  Bell  (Public  Ac- 
counts), Theophilus  McGruder  (Territorial);  Supreme  Judge,  J. 
Quinn  Thornton  ;  Circuit  Judge,  Alonzo  A.  Skinner  ;  Marshal,  H. 
M.  Knighton. 

TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  '    ' 

Governor,  Joseph  Lane;  Secretary,  Kintzing  Pritchett;  Treasurer, 
*James  Taylor ;  Auditor,  *B.  Gervais  ;  Chief  Justice,  William  C. 
Bryant ;  Associate  J  ustices,  O.  C.  Pratt,  P.  H.  Burnett ;  Marshal, 
Joseph  Meek  ;  Superintendent  of  Schools,  *Jas.  McBride;  Librarian, 
*W.  T.  Matlock  ;  Territorial  Printer,  *Wilson  Blain  ;  Commis- 
sioner of  Cayuse  War  Claims,  *Alonzo  A.  Skinner. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Governor  Lane  was  to  appoint  marshals 
to  take  the  census,  as  provided  in  the  organic  act.  The  following 
table  shows  the  population  as  thus  ascertained  : — 

'Appointed  by  Legislature,  September  X,  184B.  '...■-■ 


OREGON  BECOMES  AN  ORGANIZED  TERKITORY. 


320 


less  ; 
Ac- 
J. 
H. 


1" 

Males  21    years 
aud  over. 

Females   of  all 
ages. 

Foreigners. 

Total  number  of 
citizens. 

■s 

a  £ 

. 

COUNTIES. 

MalesuMder 
21  years. 

Males      21 
and  over. 

Females   of 
all  ages. 

1 

(jlackumas 

401 
340 
4(i') 

49 
394 
337 

39 
2!  15 

3fl0 
293 
458 
100 
492 
327 

33 
269 
229 

22 

585 
468 
647 

75 
657 
509 

37 
359 
370 

20 

4 
5 

3 

1 

2 

12 

2;< 

94 
3 
8 
1 

31 

39 

5 

8 

13 

4 

4 

12 

1370 

1107 

I'.  70 

224 

1353 

1173 

109 

923 

870 

80 

17 

35 

112 

3 
15 

1 
30 

79 

1393 

Tualatin 

1142 

Chtvnipoeg 

1082 

fy'latson 

Ol)y 

Yanihill 

1308 

Polk 

1174 

Xjewis 

14") 

Linn 

923 

Benton 

Vancouver 

870 
159 

Total 

2001 

2523 

3627 

15 

211 

46 

8795 

298  1  9083 

While  Thornton  and  Meek  were  representing  the  people  at 
Washington,  an  event  occurred  tliat  in  a  few  years  wrought  a 
marvelous  change  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Captain  John  A.  Sutter,  a 
S^\^SH,  had  come  to  Oregon  in  18158  and  the  following  year  gone  to 
California,  where  he  founded  a  settlement  on  the  site  of  the  present 
City  of  Sacramento,  which  he  named  "  New  Helvetia,"  though  it 
was  known  far  and  wide  as  "Sutter's  Fort."  In  the  Oregon  immi- 
gration of  1844  was  James  W.  Marshall,  who  went  to  California 
the  following  year  and  entered  the  employ  of  Captain  Sutter.  In 
the  fall  of  1847  Marshall  and  Sutter  entered  into  a  partnership  to 
do  a  saw-mill  business,  and  Marshall  went  up  into  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains  and  selected  a  location  for  the  mill  at  Coloma,  a 
place  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  American  Eiver.  It  was  on  the 
nineteenth  of  January,  1848,  that  Marshall  discovered  gold  in  the 
tailrace  of  the  mill.  As  soon  as  this  news  was  spread  throughout 
California,  nearly  every  able-bodied  man  hastened  to  Coloma,  work 
of  every  kind  being  abandoned  and  much  pr  ^  "ly  sacrificed.  The 
excitement  was  intense.  The  news  of  Marshall's  wonderful  dis- 
covery was  carried  East  by  the  various  routes  of  travel,  and  hun- 
dreds of  emigrants  learned  of  it  while  slowly  plodding  along  on 
the  Oregon  trail,  and  were  thus  induced  to  change  their  destination 
to  California.  For  several  years  thereafter  ov^erland  emigration 
was  almost  exclusively  to  the  gold  fields  of  California.  The  intelli- 
gence did  not  reach  Oregon  till  August,  seven  months  after  the 
discovery.     There  were  then  no  regular  means  of  communication 


330 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


hetvv<'«'ii  tilt'  SiuTiiiucnto  N'alh'V  ami  the  Willjiiiietti'.  Kvt*ry  year 
a  few  j»f(»j»I»^  followed  the  old  Hudson's  Hay  Coiiipaiiy  trail,  some 
one  way  and  some  the  other,  and  uceasionally  coastinir  or  other 
vessels  eani<'  to  the  Columbia  from  San  Fi'aneisiit;  I  tut  the  exeite- 
ment  of  the  ifold  diseovery  prevented  the  news  from  reaehini; 
Oregon  hy  either  of  these  I'outes,  until  it  was  tinally  brought  by  a 
vessel  which  came  foi'  a  cargo  of  5»u])j)lies  foi-  the  San  Fruneisco 
market.  The  t-lTeet  produced  upon  such  an  a<lventurous  class  as 
were  the  early  jtioneers,  can  well  be  imagined.  There  wfus  at  once 
a  rush  for  California,  chiefly  overland,  as  v»'s,sels  were  scarce,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  Oregon  wouhl  become  depojtulated.  Hut  this 
was  only  temporary.  Family  and  busines.s  ties  were  sti-ong  I'liough 
to  hold  back  many  and  to  hasten  the  return  of  otiiers.  Not  only 
was  Oregon  not  depopulated,  but  she  foiuid  in  Califoi-nia  tlie  tiixt 
outside  mai'ket  for  hei-  jtroduots  she  had  ever  enjoyed.  It  was  for 
her  the  beginning  of  actmd  prosperity.  Hesides  the  gold  dust 
l)rought  back  by  retiu'iiing  miners,  California  gold  poi  into  Ore- 
gon in  a  jterfect  .stream,  in  exchange  for  grain,  flour,  ve  !es,  beef, 
bacon,  and  food  products  of  all  kinds.  Minei-s  pushed  fiirthei-  noi'th 
every  yt'ar,  until,  in  isal,  they  crossed  the  line  into  Southern  Ore- 
gon, and  discovered  ricii  diggings.  After  the  first  excitement  sub- 
sided, emigrati()n  again  turned  in  the  direction  of  Oregtm,  while 
great  numbers,  aban<lonnig  the  gold  Helds.  came  noith  to  settle 
in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Willamette. 

The  scarcity  of  money  had  always  been  a  serious  evil,  increasing 
yearly  with  the  population.  When,  in  the  winter  of  184H-J>,  gold 
<lust  began  to  arrive  from  Califoi'uia,  the  material  foi-  such  a 
tnedium  was  at  hand;  but,  thouirh  the  cjttld  <lust  was  worth  from 
sixteen  to  eighteen  dollars  an  ounce,  returning  miners  could  obtain 
bnt  eleven  dollars  for  it,  while  much  of  it  was  lost  in  jifussing  from 
hand  t(»  hand.  The  Legislature  f)romptly  [)assed  an  act  for  the 
"  assaying,  melting  and  coining  of  gold,''  but  the  termination  of  the 
Provisional  Government  liy  the  arrival  of  (tovernor  Lane,  rendei-ed 
the  statute  nugatory.  Private  enteiprise  ste])ped  to  the  front  and 
supplied  the  want  by  issuing  what  is  known  as  "  beaver  money," 
somewhat  after  the  mann(M'  in  which  the  "gold  slugs"  of  Califoi' 
nia  were  issued.  These  coins  were  of  five  and  ten  dollar  denomi- 
nations, bearing  on  the  obverse  side  the  figure  of  a  beaver,  above 


siii<r 


.1(1 

I    :i 
oni 
tain 
•om 
the. 
the 
eved 
and 


ORJCOON    HK((iMKS   A.N    OlJ(JAMZKl>  TKUKITORV. 


;$.'}  1 


which  were  tlu-  letters  "  K.  M.  T.  A.  \V.  II.  C.  S.,''  ami  l>eiit'ath 
"  ( ).  T.,  1S41).'"  Oil  the  reverse  side  was  "  Ore<j()ii  F^xeliaui'e  Com- 
|>any,  l.'?0  (rraiiis  Nati\e  (Jold,  f)  D,"  or  "  10  j)wts.,  20  ifruins,  10 
1>."  Tlie  initial  letters  were  those  of  the  p'lltlellien  e(»ni|>osiii<i;  the 
coiiipaiiy  Killtoiirn,  MaijriKlef,  Tnyloi",  Abernethy,  Wilson,  Rec- 
tor, ('aiii)tl»ell  and  Smith.  The  workiiiaiiship  on  the  coin  was  (iuit»' 
creditable.  The  dies  were  made  hy  Hamilton  CftJupliell,  and  t!ie 
press  and  rollin>;  machinery  hy  William  Uectoi'.  When  money  he- 
came  more  pleiitifid,  tiie  heaver  coins  ipiickly  disa^tpcared  from  cir- 
culation, since  they  contained  ahout  eii:iit  per  cent,  more  i;old  than 
the  national  coins,  and  are  now  only  lo  he  found  as  mementoes  in 
the  possession  of  pioneers,  in  cahinets  or  amonj;'  the  collections  of 
numismatoloirists.  Xo  one  was  evei-  pro.secuted  foi-  this  infriiisxe- 
nient  of  the  constitutional  pi'ohihition  of  the  coining  of  money  by 
State  (to\ t'l-nments  or  individn  ils.  * 


t  11 


CHAPTER  XX. 


OREGON  AS  A  TERRITORY. 


Organization  of  the  Territorial  Government — First  Legislature — Towns 
ill  Oregon  in  1850 — A  Military  Einsode — John  P.  Gaines  Succeeds 
General  Lane  as  Governor — Lnharmony  between  Democratic  L^egisla- 
ture  and  Whig  Officers — Thrre  JVewspapers  Enter  the  I^ield — The 
Steamer  '''•Lot  Whitcomh^''— Oregon  City  and  Salem  Contest  for  the 
Capital — Wreck  of  the  -'■  General  Warren'''' — Indian  Troubles  in 
1851-2-3 — George  L.  Curry  becomes  Governor — Effortx  to  Form  a 
Stale  Constitution --Colville  Mines — Indian  War  of  1855-6 — Polit- 
ical CoirqjUcations — Fraser  River  Exc'Uement— Oregon  Admitted  to 
the  Union. 


OEEGON  rcniained  in  the  T'.n-ritori:  1  state  for  ten  years,  sufFer- 
inL'  all  the  e\'ils  of  partisan  government  and  olitical  strife. 
The  people  early  aspired  to  the  rights  and  dignity  of  statehood, 
and  the  (piestion  of  framing  a  constitution  was  ever  present  in  pol- 
itics. The  adjoining  State  of  California  was  av.;uitted  into  the 
Union  nnder  phenomenal  conditions,  without  passing  through  the 
Territorial  stage,  and  this  did  much  to  render  the  people  of  Oregon 
discontented  with  a  Territoi-ial  government.  But  the  most  prolific 
cause  of  discontent  was- the  length  of  time  required  to  communicate 
with  the  seat  of  government  at  Washington.  All  laws  pa^ised  by 
the  Legislature  \\ere  subject  to  disai)[n"oval  l)y  (-ongress,  and  it  took 
several  months  to  learn  wliether  an  act  would  not  be  thus  rendered 
void.  The  same  delay  occurred  in  filling  official  vacancies,  in  im- 
parting instructions  for  the  guidance  of  officers,  and  in  transacting 
all  business  requiring  communication  between  the  Territorial  author- 
ities and  those  at  AVashington.  It  was  certainly  an  unwieldy  and 
cumbersome  form  of  government,  and  the  people  necessarily  found 
it  irksome  and  repulsive. 


to^ 

St 
cu 
ett 
an 
111 


OREGON  AS  A  TERRITORY. 


333 


1 


Governor  Lane  called  an  election  for  the  sixth  of  June,  1849,  to 
choosf  a  Delegate  to  Congress  and  members  of  the  Territorial  Leg- 
islature, The  total  vote  cast  for  Delegate  was  l'-43,  of  which  Sam- 
uel R.  Thurston  received  470;  Columbia  Lancaster,  321;  James  W. 
Nesraith,  104;  Joseph  L.  Meek,  40;  J.  S.  Griffin,  8.  The  appor- 
tionment of  Councilmen  and  llepresentatives  was  made  by  the  Gov- 
ernor in  his  proclamation.  The  names  of  the  gentlemen  elected  to 
the  first  Territorial  Legislature  were  as  follows:  Council — W. 
Blain,  Tualatin;  W.  W.  Buck,  Clackamas;  8.  Parker,  Clackamas 
and  Chanipoeg;  W.  Shannon,  Champoeg;  S.  F.  McKean,  Clatsop, 
Lewis  and  Vancouver;  J.  B.  Graves,  Yamhill;  W.  Maley,  Linn; 
N.  Ford,  Polk;  L.  A.  Humphrey,  Benton.  Representatives — D. 
Hill  and  W.  M.  King,  Tualatin;  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  J.  D.  Holman 
and  Gabriel  Walling,  Clackanuis;  J.  W.  Grim,  W.  W.  Chapman 
and  W.  T.  Matlock,  Champoeg;  A.  J.  Hembree,  11.  C.  Kinney  and 
J.  B.  Walling,  Yamhill;  J.  Dunlap  and  J.  Conser,  Linn;  H.  N. 
^'.  Holmes  and  S.  Burch,  Polk;  M.  T.  Simmons,  Lewis,  Vancouver 
and  Clatsop;  J.  L.  Mulkey  and  G.  B.  Smith,  J3ent()n. 

The  Legislature  asseni])led  at  Oregon  City,  July  10,  1849,  and 
held  a  l)rief  session,  in  which  they  apportioned  their  future  mem- 
bership; changed  the  names  of  Champoeg,  Tualiitin  and  Vancouver 
counties  to  "Marion,"  "Washington,"  and  "Clarke,"  respectively; 
(U'cided  what  officers  the  various  counties  should  have,  and  provided 
for  their  election  the  following'  October,  and  divided  the  Territory 
into  three  judicial  districts.  In  October  the  county  elections  were 
held  and  the  officers  chosen  qualified  immediately.  This  Wiw  the  last 
step  in  the  comjdete  organi^iation  of  the  government  under  the 
Oregon  Bill. 

The  yar  ISoO  opened  auspi  lously  for  Oregon.  A  custom 
house  had  bt'cn  established  at  A-Loria,  and  regular  steamer  comnui- 
nication  opened  ))et\veen  the  accessil)le  ports  on  the  Willamette 
and  San  Francisco.  Oregon  contained  then  a  do/en  aspiring 
towns — Astoria,  St.  Helens,  Milton  (one  and  one-half  miles  above 
St.  Helens),  Portland,  Milwaukie,  Oregon  City,  Champoeg,  Syra- 
c»ise,  Alban\,  Marysville  (Corvallis),  Cincinnati,  Hill^l.ro,  Lafay- 
ette, Salem,  Lexington  (on  Clatsop  Plains).  Between  Milwaukie 
and  Portland  there  was  much  rivalry,  eacrh  aspiring  to  be  the  head 
wf  pc!'uianfcnt  navigation  for  ocean  steamers;  and  this  was  shared 


I 


l:i 


334 


HISTORY  OK  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


at  times  hy  St.  Helens,  as  well  as  other  ambitious  points  which 
never  acquired  mucli  greater  dignity  than  a  mere  name.  It  was 
found  that  navigation  to  Milwaukie  was  not  practicable  in  low-water 
season,  and  even  Portland  was  considered  as  too  far  up  at  one  time, 
owing  to  the  troublesome  bar  at  Swan  Island.  The  steamship  com- 
pany decided  to  make  St.  Helens,  or  Columbia  City  (a  new  town 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette),  the  terminus,  ])ut  were  quickly 
brought  back  to  Portland  by  a  movement  on  the  part  of  the  mer- 
chants of  that  city  to  establish  an  opposition  line.  Since  then,  with 
but  one  e.vce^^tion,  the  ocean  steamship  terminus  has  remained  con- 
stantly at  the  city  of  Poi-tland. 

The  military  headquarters  were  at  Oregon  City  in  1849-50,  and 
at  that  point  the  greatei'  portion  of  the  First  Mounted  Rifles  were 
stationed,  the  remainder  taking  post  at  N^mcouver,  Astoria  and  on 
Puget  Sound.  The  regiment  was  commanded  by  (Colonel  Loring, 
afterwards  txeneral,  who  achieved  a  reputation  in  Egypt,  as  Loring 
Pasha.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1850,  a  majoi'ity  of  the  men  suc- 
cum]>ed  to  the  seductive  influence  of  the  gold  excitement  and  deserted. 
Fully  four  hundred  of  them  started  foi-  the  Califoi-nia  mines,  and  at 
Eugene  City  fortified  themselves  so  that  the  soldiers  and  citizens 
who  pursued  them  coidd  not  effect  their  captiu'e.  They  then 
started  soutii  in  small  bands.  Governor  Lane  was  appealed  to  by 
the  commanding  officer,  and  hastily  collecting  a  company  of  volun- 
teers he  ])Ui'sued  and  o\'ertook  a  body  of  them  in  Rogue  River  Val- 
ley, who  surrendered  to  him  without  resistance.  Of  the  four  hundred 
desertei^s,  two  hundred  and  sixty  were  thus  captured,  the  remainder 
succeeding  in  i-eaching  California  and  losing  themselves  among  the 
miners. 

In  April,  IHoO,  (Tovernoi-  liane  ivceived  notification  that  he  had 
l)een  removed  by  the  Whig  President,  Taylor,  and  Major  John  P. 
Gaines  apj>ointed  in  his  place  on  the  second  of  the  previous  October. 
( )n  the  twenty-seventh  of  May,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
that  he  was  about  to  start  for  Rogue  River,  to  make  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians  of  that  region,  which  he  hoped  to  conclude  by  the 
eighteenth  of  June,  and  this  date  he  fixed  as  the  termination  of  his 
official  duties.  The  new  (rc^vernor  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  (xov. 
Lane  set  out  inmiediately.  He  came  to  an  amicable  understanding 
with  this  turl)ulent  tribe,  and  then  j)assed  into  California  to  try  his 


OREGON  AS   A   TERRITORY. 


335 


fortune  in  the  nimew.  It  wsis  during  this  time  that  the  Cayuse  hos- 
tages  were  tried  and  executed  at  Oi-egun  City,  the  uncertainty  a-s  to 
whether  he  was  still  in  Oregon  or  not  pi'eventing  the  Secretary  from 
jissuming  an}  authorit}'. 

The  general  election  for  county  officers  and  nusmbei's  of  the  L«'g- 
islature  was  held  in  June.  The  new  Tei'i-itorial  officers  ari'ived  in 
August,  8eptem))er,  October  and  November — Governor  (laines 
assuming  his  duties  on  the  nineteenth  of  Scj)t('mber,  l)eing  careful, 
however,  to  draw  his  salary  fi'om  the  date  of  his  ai»poinf  nient,  nearly 
a  year  befoiv.  The  other  new  officials  wer*^:  Edward  Uaniilttui, 
Secretary-;  John  McLean  and  William  Strong,  Judges;  Amor\  JIol- 
br«)ok,  United  States  Attorney;  John  Adair,  Collector  <»f  Custon.s; 
Henry  II.  Spalding,  Indian  Agent;  Joseph  L.  Meek  retained  the 
office  of  Marshal.  The  Legislature  assend>led  in  December;  being 
strongly  Democratic  in  its  composition,  a  want  of  harmony  was  at 
once  developed  between  it  and  tlie  Whig  Territorial  officers.  In 
some  respects  this  was  the  most  im[»ortant  legislative  session  ever 
held  in  Oreg«>n.  Hut  little  had  been  accomplished  the  previous 
year,  and  it  devolved  u[)on  this  session  to  give  Oregon  a  code  *>f 
laws,  and  legislate  for  the  radical!)  new  state  of  aifairs  brought 
about  by  a  Territorial  form  uovernment,  and  the  great  increase 
in  population  and  the  sud<h'ii  <  .niticial  awakening.  It  \>as<om- 
|)ose(l  of  the  leading  and  representative  men  of  the  Territory,  and 
ably  perfoi'med  its  function. 

Three  newspapers  spi-ang  into  being  in  ihe  winter  <>f  1<S5()-51. 
On  the  twenty -ninth  of  Novend)er,  IS.lo,  the  first  nund«"  of  the 
Wcs/i'rn  S/ar  ',{])\H'HVvd  at  Milwaukie,  then  a  forii  i(Uibh'  rival  of 
Portland  for  metropolitan  hon«»rs.  Lot  Whitcoiub  was  the  pub- 
lisher, .lohn  Oi'vis  A\'aterman  the  editor,  and  Waterman  and  W.  D. 
Carter  the  printers.  On  the  fourth  of  December,  Thorn  J.  Dryer 
began  the  publication  of  the  On'jfofimn  at  Portland         .  prospectus 

for  a  paper  at  Oregon  City  had  >)een  iss\ied  by Ivussell  the  fall 

before,  also  by  Asahel  Bush,  but  as  they  had  no  material  they  were 
compelled  to  delay  publication.  Mr.  Bush  was  elected  Public 
Printer  by  the  Legislature,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was 
utterly  without  facilities  for  <lischarging  the  duties  of  the  offi(!e,  while 
the  S/ar  and  Onj^oiiiaii  were  ignored.  In  March  his  material 
arrived,  and  the  Hrst  number  of  the  Sla/esiffan  was  issued  at  Oregon 


•'-I 


in 


\f 


A 


336 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


City.  Mr.  Bu.sh  was  a  representative  Democrat,  and  the  Statesman 
for  yeaiN.  while  un(hr  hits  control,  vvas  the  mouthpiece  and  official 
organ  of  the  dominant  faction  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  Star 
was  also  Democratic,  but  did  not  enjoy  such  a  generous  proportion 
of  the  "loav«-s  and  fishes"  as  did  the  official  organ.  The  Oregonian 
was  a  Whig  paper  of  the  most  pronounced  type,  and  Mr.  Dryer 
was  a  man  »»f  strong  prejudice^i,  energetic  character  and  fiery  dispo- 
sition. He  hatl  l)ut  one  standard  of  measiu'ement — political  opin- 
ion. Everything  that  savored  of  Whiggery  was  good,  while  any- 
thing in  the  lejist  tainted  with  Democracy  was  vile.  The  papers 
were  full  of  politics  and  personal  abuse,  based  upon  political  con- 
duct— the  Ongonian  and  Statesman  presenting  the  most  marked 
antagonism.  It  was  then  the  "  Oregon  style  "  of  journalism  had 
its  l>irth.  and  Nourished  like  the  product  of  the  mustard  seed  for  a 
series  of  veal's.  Argument  gave  Avay  to  invective;  intelligent  dis- 
cussion of  jwlitical  affairs  there  was  none;  the  presentation  of  the 
most  trivial  piece  of  news  was  done  in  such  a  manner  that  its  truth 
vvas  made  of  secondary  importance  to  its  political  effect,  and  even 
the  most  common  oi  the  social  amenities  were  lost  in  the  whirlpool 
of  political  animosity.  Whatever  may  })e  said  of  other  things  as 
compareil  with  juoneer  days,  there  has  cei'tainly  ])eeu  a  vast  and 
most  gratifying  improvement  in  the  chai'acter  of  Oregon  journalism. 
In  the  fall  «»f  1S50,  Lot  Whitcomb  l)egan,  at  Milwaukie,  the 
construction  of  a  snuill  steamer  to  ply  upon  the  AVillamette  and 
Columbia,  the  pioneer  of  the  great  fleet  which,  in  later  years,  bore 
the  whole  inland  conmierce  of  this  I'egion.  A  pul)lic  met'ting  wjis 
held  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Oregon  City, 
early  in  December,  at  wliidi  it  was  decided  to  name  the  steamer  the 
"■  Lot  Whitcomb  of  Oregon,"'  and  a  stand  of  colors  was  presented 
to  the  enterprising  owner.  On  ('hristmas  day  the  little  craft  wjus 
laiuiche<],  amid  the  peal  of  cannon  and  the  cheei-s  of  a  great  crowd 
of  people  who  had  jissembled  to  witness  the  event,  Governcn*  (ilaines 
formalh  christenins  her  as  above.  This  was  followed  by  a  strand 
ball  in  the  evening.  When  the  salute  was  fired.  Captain  Frederick 
Morse,  of  the  schooner  Merchantman^  which  was  then  in  port,  was 
killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  cannon  The  steamer,  a  month  later, 
made  a  trial  trip,  with  a  company  of  invit*^!  guests,  to  A'ancouver 
and  Astoria.     She  then  took  li<  i-  place  as  a  passenger  and  freight 


OREGON  AS  A  TERRITORY. 


X\7 


boat,  and  did  excellent  service.  Captain  Whitcoml)  retired  fi*om 
the  S^ar,  and  in  June,  1851,  Waterman  tfe  Carter  moved  it  to  Port- 
land, and  changed  its  name  to  the  Oregon  Weekly  Tifues,  being  led 
to  take  this  step  by  the  plainly  apparent  fact  that  Portland  was  the 
coming  metropolis  of  Oregon. 

On  the  ninth  of  April,  1851,  Samuel  R.  Thurston,  Delegate  to 
Congress,  while  on  his  way  V)acl<  to  Oregon,  died  on  board  the  steamer 
California,  while  between  Panama  and  Acapulco,  antl  was  biu'ied 
at  the  latter  place.  The  news  reached  Oregon  a  few  weeks  latei" — 
a  month  prior  to  the  general  election  at  which  his  successor  was  to 
be  elected — and  caused  a  general  expression  of  sorrow  from  the 
people.  At  its  next  session  the  Legislature  bestowed  his  name 
upon  a  county  north  of  the  Columbia  River,  now  a  portion  of  Wash- 
ington Territory,  and  later  defrayed  the  expense  of  bringing  his 
body  to  Oregon  for  burial.  The  general  election  was  held  on  the 
second  of  June,  and  General  Lane,  who  had  returned  from  the  mines 
of  Northern  California,  l)ecame  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Dele- 
gate to  Congress.  He  received  2,0i)3  votes,  while  only  548  were 
cast  for  William  H.  AVillson,  his  Whig  opponent. 

There  were  other  things  than  politics  to  interest  the  people  in 
1851  and  1852.  Early  in  1851,  gold  was  discovered  in  Southern 
Oregon;  several  thousands  of  miners  crowded  into  the  diggings  on 
the  tributaries  of  Rogue  River,  and  the  town  of  Jacksonville  sprang 
suddenly  into  existence.  This  opened  a  new  market  for  Oregon 
products,  and  added  greatly  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Willamette 
Valley.  In  an  effort  to  find  a  suital)le  seaport  for  a  base  of  sup- 
plies for  the  new  mines,  the  llmp(iua  River  was  entered  and  several 
towns  laid  out,  the  most  important  of  which  was  Scottsl)urg.  The 
following  year  Douglas  and  Jackson  counties  were  oigani/.ed,  from 
which  Coos,  Curry  and  Josephine  were,  in  later  years,  cut  off.  The 
mines  in  Northern  California,  at  Yreka  (tlien  called  Shasta  Butte 
City),  and  along  Klamath  and  Scott  rivers,  also  drew  heavily  upon 
the  Willamette  Valley  for  sujtpoit.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  the 
Rogue  River  region  led  to  the  innnediate  occupation  of  choice  loca- 
tions in  the  valley  by  farmers,  who  raised  hay,  grain  and  vegetables 
for  the  mines.  Quite  a  number  of  these  h)catioris  were  nuide  in 
1851,  and  in  two  or  three  years  the  best  piirt  of  the  valley  was 
occupied.     In  the  Umi>(T[ua  region,  also,  settlements,  which  were  but 


! 


11 


338 


UISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


few  prior  to  1850,  began  to  be  more  numerous,  and  in  a  few  years 
(juite  a  population  was  found  in  Southern  Oregon,  exclusive  of  those 
<'ngaged  in  mining.  The  Indians  of  Rogue  River  Valley  had  shown 
a  hostile  spirit  ever  since  the  first  Americans  passt^d  through  their 
country,  as  has  i)een  shown  in  the  narrative  of  se\'eral  earl}-  «!\'ents, 
and  numei-ous  collisions  occurred  between  them  and  parties  passing  to 
and  fi-o  l)etAveen  the  mines  and  the  Willamette  Valley;  several  men 
were  killed  in  this  way,  and  many  pack  an<l  saddle  animals  stolen. 
Brevet  ]\Iajor  (afterwards  General)  Phil.  Kearney,  while  passing 
through  that  region,  on  his  way  fi'om  Vancouver  to  Benicia,  with 
two  comj)anies  of  troops,  was  appealed  to  for  aid  in  punishing  the 
Indians.  They  came  upon  the  savages  on  the  bank  of  the  river  ten 
miles  above  Table  Rock.  Captain  AValker  took  liis  company  of 
infantrymen  across  the  river,  to  get  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  while 
Captain  Stewart  dismounted  his  dragoons  and  made  an  attack  upon 
the  raucheria.  The  Indians  fled  with  the  loss  of  several  of  their 
iuim])er.  The  only  casualty  on  the  part  of  the  troops  was  the  death 
of  Captain  Ste\\'art,  a  gallant  officer  who  had  won  distinction  in  the 
Mexican  AN  ar,  who  ^\  as  shot  with  an  arrow  by  a  wounded  Indian 
after  the  battle  was  over.  Later  in  the  day  a  more  severe  battle 
wa^  fought. 

Kearney  was  soon  joined  l)y  Major  Alvord,  who,  witli  a  military 
escort,  was  engaged  in  surveying  a  route  for  a  military  road  through 
Southei-n  Oregon.  AA^ith  him  was  Jesse  Applegate.  (General  Lane 
happened  to  be  passing  through  the  coiuitry  with  a  number  of 
others,  and  ujwn  hearing  the  news  at  once  hastened  to  the  aid  of 
the  military.  The  united  force  of  soldiers  and  civilians  then  set 
out  in  pursuit  of  the  sa^•ages.  In  a  short  time  they  came  upon  a 
party  of  them,  who  fled  upon  being  charged,  and  escaped  in  the 
chaparral,  leaving  one  of  their  number  dead  on  the  ground.  Late 
in  the  evening  another  band  was  encountered  and  several  were 
wounded,  while  twelve  women  and  children  were  captured.  The 
next  day  a  long  march  revealed  no  enemy.  The  troops  then  con- 
tinued their  march  south,  and  the  civilians  returned  to  their  homes 
and  mines,  or  resumed  their  uninterrupted  journeys.  Soon  after- 
wards Governor  Gaines  went  to  Rogue  River  Valley  and  negotiated 
a  treaty  with  a  portion  of  the  Indians,  assigning  them  a  reservation 
north  of  the  river.    Soon  afterwards  Dr.  Anaon  Dart  was  designated 


OREGON  AS  A  TEURITOHY. 


330 


Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  by  the  President,  and  he  appointed 
A.  A.  Skinner  agent  for  the  Indians  of  that  region.  In  spite  of  the 
treaty,  trouble  continued  to  arista  between  the  incoming  setth'rs  and 
the  native  proprietors.  A  detaclinient  of  tro()])s  was  stationed  at 
Port  Orford,  under  the  impression  that  it  was  tlie  nearest  practica- 
ble route  to  the  valley,  though  it  was  soon  discovered  that  commu- 
nication between  those  two  points  was  difficult  and  hazai'dons. 
There  had  ))een  trouble  at  Port  Orford,  and  a  party  of  men  had 
been  besieged  on  Battle  Rock  in  that  harboi-.  An  exjdoring  expe. 
dition  from  Rogue  River  Valley  to  the  coast,  headed  b}'  W.  G. 
T' Vault,  had  met  with  disaster;  consequently,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Casey  led  a  detachment  of  troops  up  Coquille  River,  and  severely 
punished  the  hostile  Indians. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1852,  the  Rogue  River  Indians  began  to 
give  signs  of  an  intention  to  go  on  the  war  path,  and  Agent  Skin- 
ner arranged  for  a  peace  talk  to  settle  all  cause  of  grievance.  A 
company  of  men,  conimanded  by  J.  K.  Lamerick,  went  to  the  Big 
Bend,  the  scene  of  the  proposed  (conference.  There  they  met  a  small 
company,  under  Judge  Elijah  Steele,  wlu)  had  come  over  fi-om 
Yreka  in  search  of  two  Indian  murderers.  During  the  progress  of 
the  council  a  fight  began  and  thirteen  Indians  were  killed.  The 
next  day,  aiter  a  brief  conflict,  the  Indians  (expressed  a  desire  to 
make  peace,  and  it  was  agreed  that  hostilities  should  cease.  A  few 
weeks  later  the  Modocs  begran  massacring  emigrants  who  were 
passing  through  their  country  around  Tule  Lake.  Two  companies 
from  Yreka,  under  Charles  McDermit  and  Ben  Wriglit,  and  one 
from  Jacksonville,  under  John  E.  Ross,  hastened  to  the  scene  of 
difficulty,  buried  the  mangled  bodies  of  two  score  emigi'ants,  guarded 
the  incoming  trains,  and  severely  chastised  the  savages.  In  the  fall 
of  1852  it  was  decided  to  establish  a  military  post  for  the  protec- 
tion of  Northern  California  aui^  Southern  Oregon.  Major  Fitz- 
gerald accordingly  built  Fort  Jones,  in  Scott  Valley,  and  gai'risoned 
it  with  his  company  of  dragoons.  He  was  soon  succeeded  in  com- 
mand by  Captain  B.  R.  Alden.  The  subsequent  hostilities  in  that 
regi(m  are  related  in  another  cliaptei-. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  Januar},  1852,  the  steamer  General  If'ar- 
ren  was  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River.  She  sailed 
from  Astoria  for  San  Francisco  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  January, 


:  II 


I  t; 


340 


niSTOKY  OF  WILLAMKTTK  VALLEY. 


find  was  safely  taken  to  sea  by  the  })ai'  pilot,  Captain  (Teorge  Flavel. 
On  the  second  clay  out  she  niet  with  heavy  weather  and  began  to 
make  water  so  alarmingly  that  the  captain,  Charles  TlK)mj>s(>n,  put 
about  f»»r  the  pur]iose  of  returning  to  Astoria,  as  she  had  uia«h'  but 
slight  progress.  Captain  Flavel  was  picked  n\^  off  the  l»ar  and 
tottk  the  steamer  across,  ])ut  when  just  inside  she  refused  to  nnnd 
her  helm  antl  (h-ifted  u|)on  Sand  Island.  She  again  floated  into 
deep  water,  wheii  it  was  discovered  that  she  would  sink  within  a 
f«nv  minutes.  As  a  last  resort.  Captain  Thompson  ordered  the  pilot 
to  beach  the  \'essel  on  C'latsop  Spit.  As  soon  as  slu'  struck,  the  sea 
l»egan  to  l)reak  over  hei-.  This  was  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  two  houi-s  later  she  broke  in  tvvo.  The  passengers  and  ci-ew  clung 
to  the  \\reck  with  the  hope  that  it  would  lu)ld  together  until  morn- 
ing, but  at  about  three  o'clock  Captaivi  Thompson  selected  a  crew 
of  ten  men,  and  putting  them  in  the  only  boat  left,  rei[Uesteil  Cap- 
tain Flavel  to  take  conimand  and  go  for  aid.  After  a  long  and 
exceedingly  hazardous  trip  they  reached  Astoria,  sent  a  volunteer 
crew  back  to  the  wreck  in  a  whale  boat  and  followeil  in  another 
one  themselves.  When  they  reached  Clatsop  Spit  they  were  unable 
to  disco^  er  even  a  vestige  of  the  steamer.  She  had  broken  in  pieces 
and  been  swe]>t  out  to  sea  with  the  forty-two  human  >>eings  who 
had  dung  to  her.  The  steamer  Avas  an  unseaworthy  hulk  that 
should  have  been  condemned  long  before. 

The  immigration  of  1852  wa**  very  large.  The  tide  which  had 
turned  towards  California  (bn'iug  the  few  years  immediately  follow- 
ing the  discovery  of  gold,  now  set  in  towards  Oregon  again.  Pra<-- 
tical  experience  in  the  mines  had  sei'ved  to  dispel,  in  a  measure,  the 
glamoiu*  surrounding  them,  and  j)eople  with  their  eyes  turneil  west- 
ward beican  to  realize  that  the  homestead  the  ujoverument  srener- 
oiisly  offered  them  in  Oregon  was  preferable  to  tlie  hazardous  occu- 
pation of  a  miner.  Many  of  them  came  with  the  intention  of  fii'st 
locating  a  permanent  home  in  the  beautiful  Willamette  Valley  and 
then  make  a  trip  to  the  mines  to  "  try  their  luck,"  returning  again 
to  their  laud  claim  when  satisfied  with  their  experience  with  the 
I'ocker  and  sluice-box.  The  season  was  dry,  and  the  great  throng 
of  cattle  and  horses  soon  disposed  of  every  vestige  of  gi'ass  along 
th(^  route,  so  that  thousands  of  stock  coming  later  in  the  simimer 
famished  and  died,  their  putrid  carcasses  marking  the  routt'  for  those 


OTJF.OOX   AS  A  TERRITOUV. 


H41 


who  rarne  jifter.  TIumv  was  much  sickness,  too.  among  the  emi- 
grants, <'ause(l  l)y  scarcitv  of  water  and  food,  for  the  slow  progress 
mach^  l»y  the  enfeel»]ed  cattle  caused  the  supplies  in  many  of  the 
wagons  to  give  out  long  before  the  Columbia  was  reached,  while 
some  emiixrants  wiiosc  stock  all  dietl  had  to  struy-ffle  alonj;  on  foot 
with  only  such  food  as  could  be  packed  upon  their  backs.  Wlien 
news  of  the  famishing  condition  of  the  emigrants  reached  the  Wil- 
lamette, the  people  held  public  meetings  in  various  places,  to  receive 
donations  of  money  and  supplies,  and  appoint  commissioners  to 
attend  to  their  pi'oper  distribution.  Flour  and  beef -cattle  were  the 
chief  form  in  which  aid  was  sent.  Headquarters  were  established 
at  The  Dalles,  and  men  went  out  on  the  route  as  far  as  the  Grand 
Ronde  Valle}-  to  carry  food  to  tliose  who  were  suffering.  This 
movement  of  the  |)eople  was  spontaneous  and  unselfisli  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  the  men  who  gave  their  services  did  so  without  asking 
or  receiving  an}  reward  whatever;  and  yet  loud  complaints  w(?re 
made  l)y  some  of  the  emigrants  because  they  did  not  receive  as 
large  a  share  as  they  deemed  themselves  entitled  to.  At  the  Uma- 
tilla Agency — then  called  "  I'tilla" — -Sylvester  and  John  H.  Hall 
interviewed  the  emigrants  as  tlu^y  passed  by,  and  took  the  name, 
age,  and  former  residence  of  those  who  had  died  on  the  route. 
Their  list,  which  must  have  been  nearly  complete,  contained  one 
h\mdred  and  twenty-one  names,  neai'ly  all  adults,  chiefly  from  Illi- 
nois, Iowa  and  Missouri,  and  wa.s  published  in  Portland  on  the 
eleventh  of  December,  1852.  It  nuiy  be  found  by  refei-ring  to  the 
ohi  files  of  the  Times,  or  Orcgojuau.  Anctther  list,  taken  from  tlie 
Sacramento  Union,  was  pu])lished  in  tlie  Z»//f.v,  November  2(»,  1852, 
i^ivinij  names  of  those  wIk^  died  in  the  California  trains,  but  em- 
l»racing  the  losses  of  tlie  entire  emigration  east  of  F()rt  Hall. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1853,  and  for  a  day  or  two  following, 
occurred  a  disastrous  flood  in  the  AVillamette.  Heavy  falls  of  snow 
in  December  were  followed  by  copious  warm  rains,  converting  every 
brook  into  a  foaming  torrent  and  the  river  into  a  rau-inij  flood.  Tlie 
steamer  Lot  Whitcomh  was  wrecked  near  Milwaukie,  but  was  after- 
wards raised  and  n'paired.  At  Oregon  City,  the  old  Abernethy 
store,  McLoughlin's  saw  mill,  the  Island  l)ridge,  and  other  objects 
were  washed  away.  General  Palmer''s  mill,  at  Dayton,  was  carried 
down  the  stream,  a  number  of  tenements  at  Linn  (/ity  started  on  a 


s; 


M2 


IlISTOKT  OF   WriLLAMKTTE  VALLKY. 


voyage  lo  the  Coliiiiihiji,  and  luucli  damage  was  done  all  along  the 
stream.  During  the  seven;  weather  which  preceded  the  flood,  large 
numbers  of  cattle,  hoi'ses  and  mules  died  on  the  plains  east  of  The 
Dalles.  Many  t>f  them  had  been  left  there  by  the  emigrants,  to  be 
gi'azed  during  the  winter,  while  othei-s  belonged  to  men  who  had 
already  gone  into  the  cattle  Inisiness  on  tlu)se  since  famous  bunch- 
grass  ranges.     But  a  small  percentage  of  the  stock  survi\ed. 

The  Legislature  assembled  at  Salem  in  Decend)er,  1852,  as  did 
also  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Whigs  having  been  convinced  that  Salem 
was  the  leoal  seat  of  <;overnment.  The  Democrats  still  nuiintained 
a  political  ascendency,  and  when  Governor  (xaines  addressed  them 
a  long  gubernatorial  message  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  they 
declined  to  receive  it,  on  the  ground  that  as  the  Governor  was  not 
required  to  sign  acts  passed  by  them,  and  did  not  even  possess  the 
veto  power,  he  was  in  no  sense  a  portion  of  the  legislative  branch 
of  the  government,  and  had  no  more  right  to  inflict  them  with  mes- 
sages than  any  j)rivate  citizen.  Had  the  executive  been  of  the  right 
political  faith  they  ^\•ould,  no  doubt,  have  listened  to  a  message 
fi'om  him  as  long  as  the  moral  law.  During  the  session  the  subject 
of  a  State  constitution  was  much  discussed,  and  a  bill  providing  for 
the  holding  of  a  convention  passed  the  house,  but  died  in  the  senate. 

The  question  of  a  division  of  the  Territory  also  received  the 
attention  of  the  Legislature.  Oregon  at  that  time  contained  three 
hundred  and  forty-one  thousand  S(piare  miles,  e([ual  in  area  to  the 
six  great  States  of  hidiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Minnesota  and 
Wisconsin,  by  fai-  too  large  for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  single 
State.  Through  it  ran  the  great  Columbia  River,  dividing  it  into 
neai'ly  eipuil  northern  and  southern  parts,  from  the  ocean  to  old 
Fort  Walla  Walla,  where  the  stream  made  a  long  sweep  to  the  north. 
The  great  centers  of  j)opulation  were  the  Willamette,  Umpcjua  and 
Rogue  River  valleys.  The  region  north  and  w'est  of  the  Columbia 
was  known  as  "  Northern  Oregon,''  and,  during  the  previous  five 
or  six  yeai's,  had  become  quite  po[)ulous.  Quite  extensive  ship- 
ments of  coal,  lumber  and  fish  wei-e  being  made  from  Puget  Sound, 
on  which  three  saw  mills  had  already  been  established.  The  chief 
settlements  in  Northern  Oregon  at  that  time  were:  Pacific  City  and 
Chinook,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Colund)ia;  Vancouver,  occupied  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  a  large  number  of   employes, 


OKKOON  AS   A    TERIUTOUY. 


WA 


UnittHl  Stiitt's  troops,  nud  many  Aau'i'i<.aii.s  who  liiul  .scttlfd  in  or 
near  t\w  town;  Foils  Walla  Walla,  Okinagan  and  Colville,  further 
up  the  Coliunhia;  Fort  Nis(jually,  on  the  Sound,  belonging  to  the 
Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company;  Olynipia;  New  Market,  or 
Tumwati'r;  Steilaeoom,  and  Port  Townsend,  on  the  Sound,  and 
many  locations  for  agi'it  iiltural  purposes,  especially  along  the  Cow- 
litz, where  the  little  towji  of  Monticello  was  h)cated.  Besides  l)eing 
separated  by  a  natural  geogi-aphical  boundary,  the  interests  of  the 
two  sections  were,  to  a  large  extent,  different  and  often  conflicting, 
and,  as  Northern  Oregon  was  in  a  hopeless  minority  in  the  legisla- 
ture, it  could  accomplish  nothing  for  itself  in  the  matter  of  legisla- 
tion. The  people  of  that  region  greatly  desired  self-govermnent, 
and  their  fellow  pioneers  of  the  Willamette  were  willing  they  should 
have  it. 

The  first  steji  taken  was  on  the  foui'th  of  Jxily,  1851,  when  a 
public  mcieting  was  held  in  01ym]>ia,  to  consider  the  (^LUi'stion  of  a 
conv(>ntion  of  delegates  to  memorialize  Congress  on  the  subject. 
Another  was  held  in  Cowlitz  Precinct  on  the  seventh,  and  on  the 
twenty-third  of  August  still  another  at  Steilaeoom.  Nothing  defi- 
nite was  agreed  upon.  In  September,  1852,  T.  F.  McElroy  and 
J.  W.  Wiley  founded  the  Columbian  at  (>lym[)ia,  and  l)egan  tit  uuce 
to  advocate  a  separate  govermnent.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  the  fol- 
lowing Novend)er  a  convention  of  delegates  assembled  at  Monticello 
and  prepared  a  memorial  to  Congress,  which  was  forwarded  to 
Wjishington  and  presented  ])y  Delegate  Lane  to  Congress.  He 
had  previously  prcxnired  the  introduction  of  a  bill  by  the  Commit- 
tee on  Territories  t(i  create  the  Territory  of  Columbia.  This  was 
amended  by  changing  the  name  to  "  Washington,"  and  finally 
pass(?d,  receiving  the  President's  approxal  on  the  third  of  March. 
The  Oregon  Legislature  luul  addressed  a  memorial  to  Congress 
requesting  such  action  as  above,  but  it  tlid  not  reach  Washington 
in  time  to  be  of  service.  The  new  Territory  embraced  all  of  Ore- 
gon north  of  the  Columbia  River  and  the  forty-sixth  paralltO,  with 
Olympia  as  the  seat  of  government.  Major  Isaac  I.  Stevens,  of  the 
U.  S.  Engineers,  was  aj^jijointed  Governor  by  President  Pierce; 
Charles  II.  Masim,  Secretary;  J.  S.  Clendenin,  Attorney;  J.  Pattern 
Anderson,  Marshal;  Edward  Lander,  Victor  Monroe,  and  O.  B. 
McFaddeu,  Judges.     The  Governor's  prochimation  assuming  the 


5 


if 

I    I'M 

!    ill 


.'U4 


HISTORY  OP  WILLAMKTTK  VALI-EY. 


duties  of  his  otticc  was  issued  while  he  was  crossing  the  Rocky 
Mi)untaius,  SepteiidxT  '2d,  IS");! 

On  the  tifttH'uth  of  Marcli,  18515,  less  tliaii  two  weeks  after  his 
inauguration,  PiH'sidcnt  Pieroe  made  a  clean  sweep  of  the  Whig 
otticials  of  Oregon,  and  a|)[)ointed  Democrats  in  theii*  i)laces,  as  fol- 
lows: Governor,  (reiieral  Joseph  Lane;  Seci-etary,  (leo.  L.  Curry; 
Chief  Justice,  (ico.  11.  Williams;  Associate  Justices,  Matthew  P. 
Deady  and  Cyrus  Olney ;  Marshal,  Jam<'s  W.  Nesmith;  Collector  of 
Customs,  John  Adair;  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  Joel  L. 
Palmer;  Attorney,  Benjamin  F.  Harding,  (rovernor  Lane  reached 
Portland,  hy  steamer,  on  the  fourteenth  of  May,  and  was  tendered 
a  pulilie  reception  in  that  city.  He  was  nominated  hy  the  Demo- 
crats to  succeed  himself  as  Delegate  to  Congress,  having  for  an 
opponent,  A.  A.  Skinner,  of  Jacksonville,  the  "  People's  Candidate." 
The  election  was  held  on  the  sixth  of  June,  Lane  receiving  four 
thousand  five  hundred  and  si.xteen  votes,  and  Skinner  two  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  fifty-one.  General  Lane  soon  departe<l  again  for 
Washington,  leaving  the  executive  office  in  the  hands  of  Seo'etary 
Curry,  who  was  later  appointed  Governor.  In  November,  John  W. 
Davis  was  appointed  Governor,  and  O.  B.  McFadden,  Justice,  vice 
Deady  removed.  Deady  was  re-apjjoiuted  in  August,  1854,  7'!ce 
McFadden  resigned. 

The  Legislatiwe  met  in  December,  18.").'],  the  government  being 
then  Democratic  in  all  its  1  tranches.  During  the  session  the  coun- 
ties of  Coos,  Columbia,  Tillamook  and  Wasco  were  created.  The 
formati<Mi  of  a  State  constitution  was  a  pet  measure  among  the 
leaders  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  they  had  but  little  trouble  in 
))assing  a  bill  to  test  the  opinion  of  the  people  on  the  subject  at  the 
next  June  election.  The  Wiiigs  were  opposed  to  the  movement  for 
the  same  i-eason  that  the  Democrats  favored  it — the  present  strength 
of  th(,'  lattei'  at  the  polls,  Avhich  would  give  them  control  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  su[)[)ly  fat  offices  for  the  leaders  of  the  movement.  At 
the  same  time  General  Lane  was  endeavoring  at  Washington  to 
have  Congress  authoi'ize  the  peojde  of  Oregon  to  frame  a  constitu- 
tion, but  unsuccessfully.  The  election  was  held  on  the  fifth  of 
June,  resulting  in  a  defeat  of  the  measure  by  a  vote  of  three  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  ten  in  favor  of  it  to  four  thousand  and  sev- 
enty-nine opposed,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  in  other  respects 


OREOON   AS   A   TKIMJITOKV 


:ur. 


the  TerriLui'}  gave  ji  large  Deiiiocratic  inajt>rity.  'I'lie  greatest  eou- 
trast  was  in  Jaeks  )ii  County,  a  great  Deuiocratic  stroiighdld,  whieli 
voted  almost  inianiinously  against  it.  The  secret  of  this  was  that 
a  movement  was  on  fot>l  in  tliat  regicm  to  have;  a  n(;v\'  territory  cre- 
ated out  of  Nortln'rn  California  and  Southei'n  Oregon,  and  the  ad- 
mission of  Oregon  into  the  rnit)n  woulil  be  fatal  to  the  scheme. 
Nothing  daunted,  the  Democratic  leaders  and  newsj>a[)ers  at  once 
made  that  an  issue  for  the  next  election. 

Govt^rn<»r  Davis  resij^ncd  and  started  for  his  hom<i  in  Indiana  on 
the  fifth  of  August,  1854,  and  the  executive  duties  again  devolved 
up<m  the  Secretary,  (Tcorge  L.  Curiy.  lie  wa?  afterwards  ap- 
pointed Governor,  and  B.  F.  Harding  was  appointed  Secretary,  V)e- 
ing  succeeded  as  Attorney  hy  W.  II,  Farrar.  The  Legislature  con- 
vened at  Salem  in  December,  and  one  of  the  first  (juestions  it  con- 
sidered was  the  creation  of  a  county  along  both  sides  the  Willam- 
ette from  above  Milwaukie  to  its  mouth,  taking  in  portions  of 
Clackamas  and  Washington.  A  bill  of  a  similar  natiu-e  had  been 
presented  to  the  former  Legislature,  but  too  late  in  the  session  to 
secure  favorable  action.  The  county  seat  of  Washington  was  at 
Hillsboro,  and  the  peoj)le  of  Porthiftd,  now  becoming  quite  a  city, 
desired  a  county  of  their  own.  The  peculiar  shape  of  the  proposed 
county  won  for  it  the  jocuhir  name  of  "Boot,"  but  tliough  this  may 
have  been  extremely  funny  it  did  not  prevent  the  bill  for  the  crea- 
tion of  Multnomah  County  passing  the  House  on  the  twenty-third 
of  DecemV)er  by  a  vote  of  twenty-one  to  four.  It  also  passed 
through  the  Council.  Later  in  the  session  another  new  county  effort 
came  to  grief.  After  much  discussion  in  the  House  on  a  l)ill  to 
create  Willamette  Comity  out  of  portions  of  Yamhill,  Clackamas 
and  Marion,  with  county  seat  at  Cham|)oeg,  it  was  indefinitely  post- 
poned. A  bill  passed  on  the  thirteenth  of  January,  IH.");"),  removing 
the  seat  of  Territorial  Government  from  Salem  to  Corvallis  and 
the  LIniversity  from  Corvallis  to  Jacksonville. 

The  subject  of  a  constitutional  convention  occupied  much  time 
during  the  session  of  this  Legislature.  The  discussion  was  warm 
and  protracted.  Action,  at  one  time,  took  the  form  of  appointing 
a  committee  t(^)  draft  i>ne,  but  finally  the  controversy  ended  by  the 
passage  of  a  bill  to  take  the  sense  of  the  people  on  the  subject  at 
the  next  general  election.     At  the  same  time  General  Lane  was 


'i 

m 


ll 


M 


34r> 


mSTOIlY  OK   WILLAMETTE  VALl-EY. 


seeking  to  liave  Cuiigi-ess  to  ])ass  a  l)ill  authorizing  a  State  constitu- 
tion to  ))e  f(inne(l  V)y  the  p<'ople  living  west  of  the  Cascades  and 
south  of  the  Columl)ia,  but  without  success,  beyond  passing  it 
througli  the  House.  At  the  June  election  the  State  went  strongly 
Democratic,  Geu(n'al  Lane  defeating  John  P.  Gaines  for  Delegate 
by  a  vote  of  six  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  to  three 
thousand  ni^e  hundred  and  forty-three.  Gaines  was  the  candidate 
of  the  American,  or  Know-Nothing,  party,  which  had  succeeded  the 
Whig  organi/>ation  as  tlie  opponent  ol"  DeuKJcracy.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  great  majority,  the  Constitutional  Convention,  a  pet  measure 
of  the  Democratic  leaders,  was  again  defeated,  and,  as  l)efore,  by 
Jackson  County,  which  gave  a  Lune  majority  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-two,  and  against  convention  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-tw(». 
The  convention  was  defeated  by  a  Vdtc  of  foui-  tiiousand  eight  hun- 
dred md  thirty-fivt'  to  four  thousand  foui-  hundi'ed  and  twenty,  a 
majority  of  four  hundred  and  iifteen,  or  seven  less  than  in  Jackson 
County.  The  opposition  fought  the  constitution  project  fiercely,  and 
were  aided  ])y  Deinocrats  in  Jackson  who  still  cherished  the  idea 
of  a  new  Territory,  and  others  who  looked  upon  tlie  State  move- 
ment as  pi'emature. 

In  A[)ril  Mr.  Bush  moved  the  Sfak'suian  from  Salem  to  Corval- 
lis,  a>i  he  had  previously  done  from  Oregon  C^ity  to  Salem.  Mucli 
fun  was  made  of  the  paper  which  was  being  carted  about  the  Ter- 
ritory "  on  wheels,'M)ut  the  publisher  replieil  that  the  Siatesnnin 
was  published  at  the  seat  of  govenunj'nt,  wherever  that  might 
chance  to  be.  Th<^  opposition  to  '-emoval  of  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment to  Corvallis  was  very  strong.  Work  had  been  commenced  by 
contractors  on  the  [)ubli('  buildings  at  Salem,  \vhicli  was  at  once 
discontimied.  The  matter  was  at  once  referred  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  by  Governoi  urry  for  instructions  as  to  the  cours(»  to 
pui*sue  in  regard  to  money  to  be  e.vpended  for  puldie  buildings. 
Early  in  July  he  received  instructions  from  the  department  not  to 
annul  existing  eonti'acts  nor  make  new  ones,  and  not  to  remove  his 
otH(  J  from  Salem,  as  the  rehtcation  act  was  deemed  inoperative 
till  acted  upon  by  Congress.  Conti'actors  at  once  resumed  work  on 
the  l)uildings  at  I'alem.  (iovernor  Curry  and  Scu-retary  Harding 
promptly  remo'-ed  the'r  olfit-es  )>ack  to  Salem,  in  aci-ordance  with 
iustructions,  and  again  Oregon  had  two  capitals. 


OREGON  AS  A  TETilUTOnY 


347 


The  incidents  attending-  the  discover}'  of  gold,  and  the  Indian 
wars  of  1855  to  1858,  are  related  at  length  in  subserjuent  chapters. 
On  the  second  of  November,  1855,  the  Pacific  Telegraph  Company 
began  stretching  wires  south  from  Portland.  The  first  telegraphic 
message  in  Oregon  was  sent  over  this  wire  from  Oi'egon  City  to 
Portland,  on  the  sixteenth  of  November,  1855.     It  was  as  follows: 

OHKfioN  City,  Fikhiy  Iti,  o  i'.  m. 
First  flaah  from  Oregon  City  to  Portland.  Coinplinients  of  tlie  Pacilie  Telegraph 
Company  to  the  editor  of  the  Orrgonian.  How  are  you,  old  fellow?  (iive  us  your 
hand,  rieawe  .send  us  the  latctst  news  from  The  Ualles  and  Yakima  country.  [This 
was  just  after  Major  Haller's  defeat  i»i  Yakima.]  Any  news  of  interest  from  Pugct 
Sound?    The  machine.^  work  well.     More  to-morrow. 

CHAS.  F.  .JONES. 

In  Septem1)er,  Secretaiy  Harding  received  instructions  from 
Washington  not  to  disburse  any  money  for  public  buildings  not 
located  in  Salem,  nor  for  mileage  or  pay  of  membcr.s  of  Legislature 
meeting  at  any  place  except  Salem.  This  settled  the  (juestion  prac- 
tically,- and  it  became  the  general  opinion  i)f  mendiers  that  they 
must  a.ssemlde  at  Corvallis  for  sake  of  legality,  but  nuist  adjiturn 
at  once  to  Salem,  for  sake  of  their  salaries.  On  the  third  of  Decem- 
ber both  houses  convened  at  Corvallis,  and  the  first  bill  introduced — 
on  the  sixth — was  to  relocate  the  seat  of  government  at  Salem. 
The  House  passed  it  on  the  tenth,  to  take  effect  on  the  twelfth.  It 
was  reported  at  once  to  the  Council  and  an  efport  made  to  rush  it 
through,  which  failed  for  want  of  a  (luorum.  The  next  day  motions 
were  made  to  amend,  so  as  to  sul)mit  it  to  popular  vote,  also  to 
sub.stitute  Eugene  City  for  Salem,  then  Portland,  Roseburg  and 
Albany,  all  of  which  were  <lefeate(l.  On  the  twelfth  it  was  amended 
to  take  effect  the  fifteenth,  and  passed.  The  House  concurred  in  the 
amendment  the  same  day.  The  members  at  once  journeyed  t(» 
Salem,  accompanied  by  the  S/d/csfJum^  and  the  s(!ssictn  was  reo])ened 
on  the  eighteenth.  On  the  night  <»f  the  twenty-ninth  the  State 
House — nearly  completed — was  destroyed  by  fire,  togethei' with  the 
library  and  archives  of  the  Ttirritory.  It  was  conceded  t(»  be  the 
work  of  an  incendiary.  A  bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  for 
submitting  the  ([uestion  of  location  of  the  capital  to  popular  vote 
at  the  ne.xt  general  electit>n.  It  passed  Uiuster  in  both  houses  and 
became  a  law. 

Just  before  th<'  session  came  to  a  dose,  a  bill  providing  for  an 
election,  in  April,  of  delegates  to  a  convention  in  July,  which  should 


^1 


348 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


frame  a  constitution,  to  he  voted  upon  at  tlie  next  general  election, 
Avas  rushed  through  the  House,  under  a  sus^jension  of  the  rules. 
The  Council  was  equally  prompt  in  passing  it.  At  the  election 
eight  thousand  four  hundi'ed  and  forty-three  votes  were  cast,  and  a 
majority  of  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  were  in  favor  of  not  hold- 
ing a  convention.  The  deh'gates  elected  never  attempted  to  as- 
semble. 

At  the  general  election  in  June  the  voters  indicated  their  pref- 
erence for  a  permanent  seat  of  go\'ernment.  The  act  provided  that 
in  case  no  town  had  a  clear  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  a  special 
election  should  l)e  held  the  first  Monday  in  October,  to  decide 
between  the  two  I'eceiving  tht(  greatest  nund»er.  Tlie  l)allots,  as  cast, 
and  canvassed  in  the  different  counties,  gave  the  four  leading  con- 
testants the  following  \'otes:  Eugene  City,  two  thousand  si.\  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven;  Corvallis,  two  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty-seven;  Salem,  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  one;  Portland, 
one  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty -four.  Neither  had  a  majority, 
but  Eugene  City  and  Corvallis  were  the  highest  two,  and  between 
them  the  final  decision  was  to  be  made  in  October.  So  it  was  pid)- 
blished  in  all  tlie  j)apers,  and  so  it  was  understood  universally.  There 
Wiis  a  sur[)rise  in  store  for  everybody.  It  was  one  of  the  provisions 
of  the  act  that  the  returns  should  Ite  Hied  with  the  Secretary  of  the 
Territory  within  forty  days,  and  at  the  e.K[)iration  of  that  time  he  was 
to  canvass  them  and  officially  declare  the  result.  The  counties  of 
Wasco,  Tillamook,  Jackson,  and  Josejihine  failed  to  c(tinply  with  the 
law  in  this  respect,  and  were  omitted  from  the  canvass.  Corvallis 
had  received  a  large  majority  in  Jackson  County,  and  the  loss  of  it 
placed  her  behind  Salem.  The  oificial  result  was  certified  by  Sec- 
retary Harding,  as  follows:  Eugene,  two  thousand  three  hundred 
and  niimteeii;  Salem,  tA\<>  thousand  and  forty-iiiiic;  Corvallis,  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-eight;  Portland,  one  tii(»usand 
one  hundn^  and  tifty-four.  In  accordance  with  this,  a  special  elec- 
tion was  called  foi'  the  first  Monday  in  Octobei',  to  decide  finally 
between  Eugene  City  and  Salem.  It  is  needless  to  say  tliat  the 
people  genei-ally  were  very  nmch  disgusted,  while  the  citizens  of 
Corvallis  were  greatly  incensed.  The  sul)jeet  was  nuich  discussed, 
and  it  became  known  that  the  authorities  at  Washington  held  that 
Salem  was  the  seat  of  government  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  Congress, 


OKKfiON   AS   A   TKHIMTOKY. 


340 


whicli  act  neitliei-  the  Legislature  nor  jieople  had  the  power  to 
change;  and  that  no  money  would  l>e  ])Hid  for  tlie  construction  of 
public  })uildings  or  rcuital  of  offices  at  any  other  point,  or  for  the 
expenses  of  a  legislative  session  held  at  an>'  place  l)ut  Salem, 
(xeneral  apathy  followed,  and  \vhen  the  first  Moixhiy  in  ( )ct()ber  came 
aroimd  few  people  took  the  trouble  to  vote.  Less  than  a  hundred 
votes  were  cast  in  the  city  of  J'ortlani!,  while  in  many  places  no  polls 
were  opened  whatever.  Curry,  Marion,  Tillamook,  Polk  and 
Wasco  made  no  retni-ns  to  the  Secretary.  Of  the  legal  votes  ca-st, 
Kngene  City  received  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-nine,  and 
Salem  four  hundred  and.  forty -four.  (Jorvallis  received  one  regular 
vote,  and  three  lnui(h'ed  and  eighteen  irr<'gular  ones,  the  latter  be- 
ing cast  by  the  citizen-^  of  that  place,  who  did  not  propose  to  }>v, 
t'heated  out  of  their  honors  l)y  a  mei'e  technicality,  but  who  did 
not  open  their  polls  in  a  regular  manner. 

According  to  the  I'eturns  of  the  special  election  Kugene  City  be- 
came the  seat  of  justice;  ))ut  the  electi<in  was  ignored,  and  both 
the  Legislatui'e  and  the  Supreme  Court  assembled  at  Salem  in  De- 
cember. No  salary  would  have  been  received  by  the  meuibei-.s  had 
they  met  in  Salem,  and  there  was  danger  that  Congress  would  de- 
clare the  session  illegal.  These  difficulties  were  obviated  })v  re- 
maining  in  Salem.  The  (piestion  of  a  constitutional  convention 
again  came  l»efore  the  Legislature,  and  an  act  was  [)assed  providing 
for  the  holding  of  one  in  iVugust,  1S57,  provided  the  people  so  de- 
cided at  the  |)r<'vious  June  election,  at  which  time,  also,  delegates 
were  to  be  chosen.  A  great  change  had  come  over  the  sentiments 
of  the  people  on  this  (piestion,  owing  to  divers  causes.  The  people 
of  Jackson  and  Josephine  counties  had  Mbandoned  their  idea  of  a 
new  Territory;  the  people  generally  had  become  tired  of  the  crudi- 
ties and  annoyances  of  a  teri'itorial  government;  and,  finally,  the 
Territoiy  had  claims  to  the  amount  of  several  million  dollars  against 
the  Government  for  expenses  incurred  in  the  Indian  wars,  and  it 
was  evident  to  all  that  they  stood  a  much  better  chance  of  securing 
these  witji  two  Seiiatoi's  and  a  Representative  to  talk  and  vote  for 
them,  than  simply  with  a  Delegate  who  had  no  vote  at'all.  The 
conse((uence  of  this  revolution  in  popular  sentinn-nt  was  a  great  ma- 
jority in  favor  of  a  coiixention,  the  vote  standing  seven  thousand  two 
hundred  and  nine  to  one  th«»usaud  six  hundred  and  sixteen.     Gen- 


350 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


eral  Lane  wa.-*  again  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Delegate,  and  was 
electeil,  i-eceiving  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-two  votes. 
There  wa^  uo  reguhirly  oi'ganized  op[)ositit)U,  since  the  Whig  party 
was  di'ad.  the  American,  or  Knovv-Nothing  luid  become  disorgan- 
izwl,  and  the  new  lve[>ul)lican  party  had  not  been  organized  a.s  yet 
in  Oregon.  The  oj>position  concentiated  on  G.  W.  Lavvson  as  an 
indepen»hM»t  randidate,  and  gave  him  three  thousand  four  lumdred 
and  sev»iity-oue  vot'.'s,  ;?  minority  of  two  thousand  «»ne  hundred 
and  ninety-one. 

Tlie  delegates  convened  at  Salem  on  the  seventeenth  of  August, 
1857,  and  ««rganized  by  electing  M,  P.  Deady,  President,  and  C.  N. 
Terry,  Secretary.  Aftei-  an  animated  session  the  convention  ad- 
journetl  on  the  eighteenth  of  Septend)er,  theii-  work,  {is  a  whole, 
being  adopteil  by  a  vote  of  thirty-five  to  ten — fifteen  membei-s  ])eing 
absent.  The  follouing  gentlemen  composed  the  ccmvention: — 
Btiitou—oiAnx  Kelsay,  H.  C.  Le\v'is,  II.  B.  Nicluds,  Wm.  Matzger; 
Clatsop — ^Cyrus  Olney;  Columbia — John  W.  Watts;  Clackamas — 
James  K.  Kelly,  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  AVm.  A.  Starkweather,  11.  Camp- 
bell, Nathaniel  Robbins;  Coos  —V.  B.  Marple;  Curry — William  H. 
Packwo«Ml:  Douglas — M.  P.  Deady,  Solonum  Fitzhuirh,  Stephen  S. 
Chad  wick.  Thomas  AVhitted ;  /asYy^/z/wr— S.  B.  Hendershott,  AV.  II. 
^i\iVm<\  Jackson — L.  J.  V.  Duncan,  J.  IT.  Reed,  Daniel  Newcomb, 
P.  P.  Prim;  Linn — Delazon  Smith,  Luther  Elkins,  John  T.  Crooks, 
J.  II.  Brattain,  James  Shields,  Reuben  S.  Coyle;  Lane — Enoch 
Hoult,  W.  W.  Bristow,  Jesse  Co.\,  Paul  Brattain,  A.  J.  Cainpl»ell, 
Isaac  R.  Moores;  Afarion — George  IT.  Williams,  L,  F.  (trover,  J. 
C  Peebles.  Joseph  Cox,  Nicholas  Shrum,  Davis  Shannon,  Richard 
Miller;  Multnomah — S.  J.  McCormick,  William  IT.  Farrar,  David 
Logan;  Multnomah  and  Washington — Thomas  J.  Di-yer;  Wash- 
ington— E.  D.  Shattuck,  John  S.  White,  Levi  Anderson;  Polk — 
ReuT>en  P.  B«Mse,  F.  Waymire,  l^enjamin  F.  T^urch;  Polk  and  Til- 
lamook— A.  D.  Babcock;  Umpqua — Levi  Scott,  Jesse  Ap[)legate; 
Wasco -C.  R.  Meigs;  Vamhill—M.  Olds,  R.  V.  Short,  R.  C.  Kin- 
ney, John  R.  McBrid«'. 

The  ([uestions  of  slavery  and  free  negroes  had  been  piu-posely 
avoided  in  the  convention,  and  were  engrafted  upon  the  schedule 
as  special  arti«-les,  to  be  voted  u})on  by  the  people  sei»ai'ately.  The 
constitution  was  opposed  by  some  people  because  it  did  not  pro- 


OKKOOX  AS   A  TEKHITORY. 


351 


hibit  slavery,  and  l)y  others  Lecause  it  did  not  establish  slavery. 
The  seat  of  government  was  also  objectionable  t(j  some  who  were 
opposed  to  Salem.  A  special  election  was  held  t>n  the  second  of  the 
following  Novendjer,  and  resulted  as  ftdlovvs:  For  constitution, 
seven  thousand  one  hun<b('d  and  ninety-five;  against,  thi-ee  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifteen.  For  slavery,  two  thousand  six  hundred 
and  forty-five;  against,  seven  thousand  seven  huinhrd  and  twenty- 
seven.  For  free  negroes,  one  thousand  and  eighty-one;  against, 
eisfht  thousand  six  huncb'cd  and  f(>rtv.  The  Territorial  Letris- 
lature  convened  on  tlie  eleventh  of  Decend)er,  bs57,  and  held  its 
usual  session.  For  the  regular  June  election,  1858,  full  State 
ti<;kets  were  nominated  by  tiie  Democratic  and  Kepul^lican  parties? 
the  contest  i-esulting  in  a  sweeping  victory  for  the  Democrats,  as 
follows;  Kepresentatixc  to  '^'ongress- — L.  F.  (rrover,  five  thousand 
eight  hun(b'ed  and  fifty-nine;  James  K.  Kelly,  four  thousand  one 
hundred  and  ninety.  (loveruor — John  W'hiteaker,  five  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-eight;  E.  M.  Barnum,  four  thousand  tw») 
lumdred  and  fourteen.  Secretary  of  State — Lucien  Heath,  five 
thousand  seven  iiun«h-ed  and  forty-six;  E.  A.  Kice,  three  thousand 
six  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  Treasurer — John  D.  Boon,  I've  thousand 
six  hundred  and  seventy-six;  J.  S.  Jiramley,  thi-ee  thousand  five 
hundred  and  thirty-one;  E.  \j.  A]>])legate,  five  hunih-ed  and  ninet}'. 
State  Printer — Asahel  Bush,  four  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight;  James  O'Meara,  four  thoustuid  fi\('  hundred  and  fifty-seven; 
D.  W.  Craig,  four  hundred  ami  thirteen.  M.  P.  Dcnuly,  R.  E.  Strat- 
ton,  R.  P.  Bois(^,  and  A.  E.  Wait  were  chosen  Justices  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  Aecoi'ding  to  the  constitution  a  special  term  of  the 
newly  ehn-ted  State  Legislature  convened  in  Sak'm  on  the  fifth  of 
July,  foi'  the  puri)ose  of  electing  two  I  Jiited  States  Senators.  It 
was  composed  of  thirty-eight  Democrats  and  eleven  Republicans. 
On  the  eighth  of  July  the  oath  of  office  was  administered  to  Gov- 
ernor Wliiteaker  l»y  Judge  Boise,  and  the  machinery  of  the  new 
Government  was  put  in  operation. 

The  Legislature,  elected  Joseph  Lane  and  Delazon  Smith  to  rep- 
resent Oregon  in  the  Tnited  States  Senate,  and  adjourned  after  a 
.session  of  four  days.  Soon  afterwaids  word  was  received  tliat  Con- 
gress had  adjourned  ^vithout  tiie  House  passing  thcf  enabling  act 
which  had  passed  the  Senate  early  iu  May,  and  that  Oregon  must 


352 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


reniuin  ji  IVn'itorv  until  the  next  session.  For  some  time  the  proper 
rourse  to  pursue  wus  svarmly  discussed.  There  wei'e  two  full  sets 
of  orticers  and  two  forms  of  government.  (Gradually  it  became  the 
t,'eneral  <)[)ini<)n  that  the  State  officers  shouhl  remain  tpiietand  per- 
mit the  Territorial  (foverninent  to  proceed  unemban-assed.  Under 
the  eonstitution  the  State  Legislature  should  have  met  in  Septemljer, 
}>ut  at  the  ap])ointed  time  only  nine  representatives  and  two  sena- 
tors made  their  appearance  in  Salem,  and  these  adjourned  after  two 
useless  meetings.  On  the  sixth  of  December  the  Territorial  Legis- 
lature again  assembled  and  hehl  its  regular  session.  Soon  after  its 
adjournment  news  was  received  that  Oregon  had  been  admitted  into 
the  Union.  Senator  Smith  and  llepresentative  Grover  had  gone  to 
Washington  the  fall  l)efore,  and  when  Congress*  as.sembled  liad 
joined  with  Delegate  J^ane  (Senator  elect)  in  urging  the  pa.ssage  of 
an  enabling  act  for  Oregon.  It  early  pii.sse<l  the  Senate,  but  met 
with  bitter  opposition  in  the  House,  being  supported  l>y  the  Demo- 
crjits  and  opposed  by  the  Republicans.  Finally,  on  the  twelfth  of 
February,  1S5U,  it  wtw  passed  by  a  strict  party  vote.  It  then 
received  the  signature  of  President  Buchanan,  and  Oregon  Territory 
was  a  thing  of  the  past. 


The  following  are  the  signatures  of  the  Delegates  to  the  Consti- 
tutional Convention  held  in  Salem,  Septeni}>er  18,  1857:— 

* 


■^**^r 


df^utjC  ^  .^^(^-'nj^ 


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^,^4^^.^^         A^ 


iil>*H.<^ 


^i^S^ 


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L^  , '  cf^  '   t^U^.,X3.;jJcx-x«_,V't^ 


^^^^' 


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by  1 
men 


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liast< 


CHAPTEK  XXI. 


INDIAN  WARR  OF  1853  AND  \Hr>4. 


Outrageu  Committed  in  limjue  River  Valley-  Voluniror  Companies 
Organised — General  Tjine  Takes  Command — Defeat  nf  Lieutenant 
Griffin  and  of  Lieutenant  Khj — Indians  Defeated  at  Battle  Creek — 
Armistice  of  Seven  Days — The  Table  lioek  Treaty  Incidents  of  the 
'•'■Peace  Talk  " — The  Grave  Creek  Massacre — Captain  Miller  Sent  to 
Escort  Emigrants  through  the  Modoc  Country-  -  Expenses  nf  the  War 
Paid  by  the  Government — Events  of  185 Jf— The  Snake  River  Massa- 
cre— Expedition  oj-  Major  Ilaller  to  Eort  Boise. 


TROUBLE  was  tipjain  experienced  witli  the  Indians  in  Rogne 
River  Valley  in  the  fall  of  18r)l{.  It  began  early  in  August 
by  tlie  perpetration  of  several  murders  in  diffei-ent  loi-alities  by 
members  of  several  <lifF(!rent  l)ands  of  the  tril)e,  aj»j)arently  without 
any  preconcerted  action  vvhate\-er.  Feeling  uneasy  at  the  pr»'sence 
of  a  small  band  of  these  Indians,  though  there  is  no  evidence  to 
show  that  they  had  been  concerned  in  any  of  the  nuu'ders  mentioned, 
a  party  of  men  attacked  their  camp,  killed  one  buck  and  wounded 
others,  and  carried  the  women  and  children  to  a  stockade  which 
had  been  erected  for  the  protection  of  the  settlers,  retaining  them 
there  as  hostages.  A  few  days  later  tiie  warriors  surrendered,  and 
were  kept  with  theii*  families  at  the  stockade,  where,  also,  the 
settlers  were  assembled  for  mutual  protection.  In  a  few  days  the 
warriors  rebelled,  killed  four  of  the  men  and  wounded  three  others, 
making  good  their  escape.  A  state  of  war  now  existed.  The 
people  collected  at  Jacksonville  and  at  half-a-doy.en  central  points 
in  the  settlements,  and  "forted  up,"  while  the  Indians  })usied  them- 
selves in  destroying  the  a})andoned  homes.  A  courier  was  at  once 
dispatched  to  notify  Captain  Alden,  at  Fort  Jones,  and  that  officer 
hastened  to  Jacksonville  with  t^veuty  men,  all  the  force  that  could 


354 


HISTORY  OF   WrLI.AMETTK  VALLKT. 


1)6  spared  from  the  post.  Two  o(»iupjini<'s  of  voluntecrH — ninety 
men  under  Captain  J.  P.  (roodall,  and  sixty  under  Captain  Jacob 
Rboades — were  (trganized  at  Yreka  and  came  over  t«»  aid  the  Ore- 
gon settlers.  Six  companies  (»f  vohititeers  wei'e  raised  in  Southern 
()reg()n,  commanded  by  Ca[)tains  II.  L.  AVilliams,  J.  K.  l.americk, 
John  F.  Miller,  Elijis  A.  Owens,  antl  ^V.  W.  Fowler,  the  last  named 
being  designed  solely  for  the  protection  of  Jacksonville.  The  other 
companies  all  assembled  at  Camp  Stewart  and  were  organized  into 
a  battalion,  of  which  Captain  Alden  assumed  command  by  request, 
the  effective  force  nund)ering  some  three  hundred  men.  F^ach 
volunteer  was  mounted,  armed  and  dressed  according  to  his  own 
fashion.  It  was  a  nondescript  body  of  soldiery,  but,  none  tlie  less, 
one  well  Htted  for  the  work  in  hand. 

Meanwhile,  the  Indians  had  also  united  and  taken  uj)  a  position 
«>n  Talde  Rock,  wliicli  they  fortified  with  considerable  skill  by 
means  of  a  ditch  and  a  rampart  of  eailli  and  rocks.  This,  however, 
they  soon  a])andoned,  and  retired  into  tlie  mountains,  and  it  took 
several  days  to  ascertain  their  whereabouts.  A  messenger  was  dis- 
patched to  Acting  Governor  Curry,  soliciting  aid  in  prosecuting  the 
war,  )>ut  before  it  arrived  the  war  was  over.  Genei'al  Lane  heard 
of  the  difHculty  while  at  his  home  on  Deer  Creek,  Douglas  County, 
and  hastily  collecting  abojit  fifty  volunteers,  he  was  soon  with  the 
battalion  at  ('amp  Stewart.  Captain  Alden  tendered  him  the  com- 
mand of  the  fon-e,  and  he  accepted  it.  Meanwhile,  several  collisions 
had  occui'red  between  the  whites  and  d<'tached  bands  of  >.avages. 
Tiieutenant  Burrell  H.  (triffin,  with  some  twenty  men  of  Miller's 
company,  had  a  fight  with  about  twice  tliat  nund)er  of  Old  John's 
band,  led  Ity  the  diit-f  in  j)erson.  The  whites  were  defea'.ed  witli  a 
loss  of  one  killed  and  two  w(mnded,  including  the  Lieutenant.  The 
Indians  subsequently  admitted  the  loss  of  five  killed  and  wounded. 
This  battle  occurred  near  the  confluence  of  Applegate  and  Williams 
creeks.  Two  days  before  this,  John  R.  Harding  and  William  R. 
Rose,  of  Lamerick's  com})any,  while  on  their  way  from  Camp  Stew- 
art to  JaoksonWlle,  were  fired  upon  by  Indians  when  near  Willow 
Springs.  Rose  was  killed  and  Harding  so  severely  wc)unded  that 
he  died  shortly  afterwards.  Other  incidents  were  the  capture  and 
shooting  of  a  suspected  Indian  by  Angus  Brown,  the  hanging  of  an 
Indian  child  in  the  town  of  Jacksonville,  the  hanging  of  five  Indians 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  EIOIITKEN  FIKTY-TIIUKK    FOtUJ. 


355 


upon  one  tree  at  jinotlKT  point,  and  a  nuniluT  of  t)tlM'r  incidents 
wliifli  reflect  no  credit  upon  those  cnLTfiired  in  tlieni,  and  serve  to 
show  to  what  a  pit<-h  the  feelings  ol  the  people  had  hi'en  ai-oiised. 
A  collision  occurred  a  few  days  Uefore  the  arrival  of  (Jeneral 
Lane,  which  showed  that  the  campaign  was  to  l»e  soiuething  more 
than  chiM's  ]>lay.  On  tlu'  sixteenth  of  August  a  detachment  of 
twenty-two  men  from  Gooihill's  company  was  sent  out  tinih-r  Lieu- 
tenant Simeon  Ely,  to  reconnoitre.  The  next  day,  when  al><»ut  two 
miles  northwest  of  Tal)le  Rock,  the  men  ])icketed  their  iiorses  in  the 
flat  and  sat  down  to  enjoy  dinner;  sentries  were  stationed,  hut 
soon  loft  tlieir  posts  and  gathered  with  tlx'  rest  around  thesjuoking 
viands.  Just  at  this  blissful  moment  there  came  a  \ollev  of  bullets 
fi'om  a  fringe  of  willows  close  by,  that  killed  and  wounded  t<'n  of 
their  number.  I^eaving  their  horses  they  rusiied  to  cover,  and  gain- 
ing a  strong  position  amid  the  brush  and  fallen  timber,  they  kept 
the  savages  at  l»ay.  Privates  Terrell  and  Mc(i««nigle  set  out  for 
help,  and  l)efore  the  enemy  iiad  coijupletely  surroundeij  them  got 
away  and  hastened  to  Camp  Stewart,  seventeen  miles  di«tant,  where 
Goodall's  company  was  stationed.  (Joodall  and  his  men  set  out  at 
top  speed,  and  in  the  shortest  i)ractical  time  airived  on  the  field. 
J.  I).  Carly  and  five  others  were  in  the  advance,  and  when  the  In- 
dians saw  tliem  tlu'y  decamped  at  once,  carrying  away  eighteen 
horses,  blankets,  etc.  The  casualties  inflicted  on  Kly's  men  were 
found  to  be — Sergeant  Frank  Perry  and  Privatt-s  P.  K<'ith,  A. 
Douglas,  A.  C.  Colbourn,  L.  Stukting,  and  William  NefT,  killed 
outright;  and  Lieutenant  Ely  and  Privates  Zebulon  Sheets,  Joiin 
Alban  and  James  Carroll,  wounded.  C'arl  Vogt,  a  German,  is  said 
to  have  been  kilh'd  at  this  fight,  although  his  name  is  not  to  be 
found  in  any  official  documents  i-elating  to  the  killed  in  the  war. 
The  Indians  had  fallen  back,  and  the  main  force  under  Captain 
Alden  came  up  during  the  night.  an<l  all  camju'd  on  the  flat.  The 
next  morning  the  dead  were  buried  with  the  hon()rs  of  war.  Scouts 
sent  out  reported  that  the  Indians  had  retired  a  hnig  distance  into 
the  mountains,  setting  lire  to  the  woods  in  their  rear,  and  almost 
obliterating  their  trail.  It  was  decided  by  the  council  of  oflficers 
that  it  was  nec(\ssary  to  return  to  liead(|uarters  and  recruit  with 
jerked  beef  and  other  frontier  relishes,  in  preparation  for  still  more 
arduous  duties.     This  was  done,  and  they  were  thus  preparing  for 


ar)() 


HlSTOUy  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


a  ram])}iign  wlien  (iferu'lHi  Lane  arrived,  an  descrilied   above,  and 
aH,»iunie(l  coiimjjvnd. 

Tile  colli jmn'u'S  t>f  Miller  and   Lamerick,  conijx^ising  a  battalion 
ill  charge  of  Colonel  Ross  were  ordered  t«»  ju'oceed  down   EvanH' 
Creek  to  the  -iupposed  vicinity  of  the  enemy.     The  regulars  and  the 
two  Califor'iia  coni]>anies  of  Goodall  and  Rhoades,  under  Captain 
Allien,  \vei<^  ordered  to  proceed  u]i  Trail  Creek  to  the  battleground 
where  Ely   was  found  by  the  Indians,     (reneral   Lane  himself  pro- 
ceeded with  Captain  Alden's  battalion.     Scouts  reported  late  iii  the 
day  that   t  le   Luliaiis  had  taken  to  the  mountains  west  and  north 
of  Evans'  Creek.     Karly  on  the  following  day  (August   2.'{),  the 
line  of  manih  was  taken  up  an«l  the  Indian  trail  followed  through 
a   very  dirtii-ult   country— mountainous,   precipitous  and    )»ushy — 
wdiere  there  was  constant  [)rosj)eet  of  going  astray,  as  the  trail  left 
by  the  xivnges  was  very  dim  and  nearly  obliterated  by  fire.     On  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-fourth  a  shot  was  heard,  and  scouts  came  in 
tlirectly  afterward    and    lejiorted  the  enemy  encamped  in  a  thick 
wood    lilled    with    underl>rush,  ap[)arently  imj)enetral)le  to  horsi-s. 
(reneral  Lane  decided  to  attack  instantly.     The  Hrst  intimation  the 
-avages  had  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  was  a  \olley  of  biiljcts. 
They  were  not  stami>e(led  by  this  rough  salute,  howe\cr,  but,  catch- 
ing \lp  tlK'ii'  guns,  eiitereil  witli  /.est  into  the  tight,  while  the  sipiaws 
and   other  inipcdiincuta  were  sent   out   of   hai'in's    way.     (^aptain 
Alden   was  wonndefj   early  in  the  Hght,  and  his  i-egulais  had  dirti- 
ciilty  in  |)reserviiig  him  from  the   In<Iiaiis,  who  attem|»ted   his  cjip- 
/ure  as  he  lay  upon   the  ground.      I'leasant  Armstrong,  of  ^'amlli]l 
County,  a   much  res]»ected   gentleman   who  ha<l   volunteered    with 
(ieneral  Lane,  was  mortally  wouiide(l   Ity  a  bullet  in  the  breast  and 
fell,  it  is  said,  e.vclaiming,  "  ,\  dead  center  shot!"     The  tight   was 
very  warm,  and   lasted  for  an  hour,  when   the   pack  trains  nrrixol 
with  their  guard.     Leaving  fifteen  men  to  iruard  the  animals,  (Jen- 
eral   Lane  took  command  of  tin-  others,  n<»t  more  than  ten  in  num- 
ber, and  (d'dered  a  e*i..  ge.  ^o  drive  the  natives  from  their  cover. 
Being  in  advance  he  appntached  within  thirty  yards  of  the  nearest 
Indians,  when  he  received  a  severe  bullet  wound  throuuh  the  risjflit 
arm.     Still  exposing  himself,  he  was  forcibly  rlragg(  d  behind  a  tree, 
where  he  continued  to  direct  tlie  fight.     He  gave  orders  to  e.vtend  the 
line  of  battle  so  as  to  pri'vent  the  Indians  from  outtlauking  hi.s  force 


rXDlAis'  WARS  OK  EIGHTEEN  KIFTY-THKEE-FOUR. 


357 


mi- 

lill 
■itl. 
:iimI 
was 
ivcd 
!cii- 
iniii- 

afi'st 

trt'f, 
1  th.' 


jiiitl  feeling  the  loss  of  l)loo(l,  retired  U'Ui|jorarily  to  have  his  wound 
attended  to.  At  this  juncture  the  In<lians,  Iiaving  found  that  Gen- 
eral Lane  was  in  command  of  the  whites,  l)ey;an  to  call  to  hhn  and 
to  the  soldieis,  professing  their  readiness  to  treat  for  peace.  Robert 
^rctcaif,  SuK-agent  for  the  Indians,  went  tt)  their  camj),  and  through 
iiiin  aiiil  others  negotiations  were  conniienced,  (Jeneral  Lane  having 
retiiiiicd  to  the  front,  N<tt  wishing  to  inform  the  savages  of  his 
wound,  the  (leiieral  wmt  among  them,  having  thrown  a  heavy  coat 
over  his  shoidders  s(»  as  to  conceal  his  arm.  An  armistice  (»f  sev«'n 
days  \v!us  agreed  upon,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  a  final  peace  talk 
should  \h'  held  at  'J'al>le  J{(»ck,  wher'-  a  treaty  was  to  l>e  arranged, 
the  Indians  delivei'  up  their  arms,  and  a  reservation  l»e  assigneil 
them  at  Taltle  Il<»ck. 

During  the  following  night  Colonel  Ross  arn\('d  with  his  bat- 
talion, and  Cliict  Sam  came  in  with  alM)Ut  half  the  waiiiors,  with 
wln>m  he  had  been  recoiinoitering  for  a  permanent  camp.  It  seems 
that  as  soon  as  the  engagement  bi-gan.  runners  were  sent  (»ut  by  Joe 
to  a[)[)rise  his  brother  of  the  state  of  alTairs,  and  hasten  his  return. 
The  distance  prevented  his  arrival  in  lime  to  take  j)art  in  the  tight, 
ami  his  braves  had  n<t  opportimit}  to  display  their  valoi'.  It,  there- 
fore, may  have  been  pro^  idential  that  Ross'  l»attalion  ai-rived  when 
it  did.  The  Indians  owned  to  a  loss  of  twelve  killed  and  wounded. 
J«»hn  Scarborough,  of  the  ^feka  volunteecs.  and  Pleasant  Arm- 
strong were  killed,  and  (reiieral  Lane,  ('aj)tain  Alden.  Privates 
Thonuis  Hays,  !Ieni\  Fleshei  and  Oharl  s  Abbe  were  wounded, 
th<;  latter  mortally.  Captain  Alden  dietl  two  years  later  from  the 
result  of  his  woinid,  a  llieneral  Lane  never  (piite  recovered  from 
his  own  hurt.  .\s  soon  as  the  terms  of  the  armistice  were  arranged, 
the  troops  took  up  theii'  nuu'<-h  homeward  and  went  into  cam[)  at 
llailey's  ( liyliee's)  Kerry,  giving  the  location  the  name  «>f  "'CJamp 
Alden,"  in  honor  of  the  gallant  Captain. 

Reinforcements  began  to  arrive  from  various  ipnirters  by  the 
time  the  forces  returned  to  the  valley.  Among  other  things  a 
howitzi'r  was  sent  by  the  authorities  at  Fort  Vjuicouver,  with  a 
supply  of  ammunitii>n.  forty  muskt'ts.  four  thousand  cartridges,  and 
(tthev  articles.  Lictitemuit  KatJt/-,  since  (ieiieral,  was  sent  in  chaige 
of  the  howitzer,  with  seven  men.  Acting  Governor  Cm-ry  made 
proclumutiou  for  an  armed  guard  to  accompany  the  Lieutenant,  and 


358 


niSTOUT  OF  WILLAMETTK  VALLET. 


forty-one  nicu  voluntcci-cd,  led  l>v  J.  AV.  Nesniitb,  with  Lafayette 
(n-ovcr  as  Lieutenant.  Lieutenant  (trover  went  in  -tKlvance  with 
twenty  men,  .-tiid  was  joined  at  South  rnijxiua,  on  Se|)teinl)er  first, 
l>y  Judtr«'  Matthew  P.  ])eady,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Jaei<sonville  to 
hold  court.  Joel  Palmer,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  and 
Samuel  II.  Cuh'er,  Lidian  Agent,  also  ai'rived.  From  Port  Orford 
came  C'aptain  A.  J.  Smith  with  his  company  of  First  Dragoons, 
sixty  strong.  Owing  to  Palmer's  failure  to  arrive  at  the  time  aj)- 
})ointe(l,  the  |)eaee  talk  was  post[»oned  until  Septend)er  t"nth. 
Judge  Deady  tiuis  descrihes  the  scene  which  was  enaete<l  on  the 
day  last  api)ointt'd: — 

The  Mt'ene  of  Hue,  I'uiuous  "  ja'aci-  talk"  lii'twccn  ,lnso|ili  [jUIIc  and  Inilian  .Joseph 
—two  ini'ii  who  liad  so  lately  met  in  mortal  i-omliat  -was  worthy  of  the  j)en  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott  ami  tiie  pencil  of  8alvator  Koss.  It  was  on  a  narrow  hench  of  a  long, 
gently-sloping  hill  lying  over  against  the  noted  hhilt  called  Tuhle  U  >ck  '"he 
ground  was  thinly  covered  with  majestic  old  pines  and  nigged  oaks,  witii  her. 
there  a  I'lnmp  of  grccii  oak  Imslies.  Alioni  half  a  mile  aliove  the  liright  niouiitaui 
Hiream  that  threadc<l  the  narrow  valley  liclow,  sat  the  two  chiefs  in  council.  Lane 
was  in  fatigue  dress,  the  arm  which  was  wounded  at  liucna  Vista  in  a  sling  from  a 
frenh  bullet  wound  received  at  Battle  Creek.  Indian  Joseph,  tall,  grave  and  self- 
poHsessed,  won- a  long,  black  rohe  over  his  ordinary  dress.  Hy  his  side  sat  Mary, 
his  favorite  child  and  failhful  companion,  then  a  comparatively  handsome  young 
wonum,  unstained  with  the  vices  of  civilization,  .\round  these  sat  on  the  griiMs 
Captain  ,\.  .1.  Smith— now  (jleneral  Sndth,  of  St.  Louis— who  had  just  arrive',  from 
I'ort  Orford  with  his  (r(  i.  ))any  of  the  First  I)rag(M)ns;  Captain  Alvord,  then  en. 
gaged  in  the  construction  ■>'.  n  ndlitary  road  through  the  rmpipia  canyon  and  since 
l)aynuisler  of  the  \' .  S.  A.  ;  Colonel  Mill  .Martin,  of  l'nip(pia,  (  olonel  .lohn  K.  Hoss, 
of  .''^■'kMonville,  and  a  few  others.  A  short  distance  ahove  us  on  the  hillside  were 
some  hundreds  of  dusky  warriors  in  lighting  gear,  reclining  ipdctly  on  Ihi;  ground. 
The  day  was  licauliful.  To  the  cast  of  us  rose  ahruptly  Tahle  Ko^  k  and  at  its  haxe 
stood  S'nith's  dragoons,  waiting  an.xiously  with  hand  on  horse  the  issue  of  this  at- 
tempt to  make  peace  without  their  aid.  Alter  a  proposition  was  <liseussed  and  set- 
tled between  the  two  ehlelM,  the  Indian  wouhl  rise  up  and  eonnnunieate  the  matter 
to  a  huge  warrior  who  reclined  at  the  fool  of  a  ;  . .'  ((uiti'  near  us.  Thi-n  the  latter 
rose  up  and  ciimmunicaled  the  iiuitter  to  the  host  above  him,  and  the,\  belabored  it 
back  and  forth  with  many  voices.  'I'hen  thi'  warrior  communic:<ted  the  thought  of 
the  multitude  on  this  subject  back  to  the  chief;  and  so  the  <liseussion  went  on  unti| 
an  umlerstandlng  was  llnally  reaidied.  Then  we  separated — the  Indians  going  back 
to  their  niouiitaiu  retreat,  and  the  whites  to  the  camp. 

J.  W.  Ne.smith  has  left  some  additional  ptirticulars  of  interest. 
He  says; — 

Karly  in  the  morning  of  the  tenth  of  September,  we  rode  toward  the  In<liun  en. 
eami'mcnt.  Our  party  consisted  of  tlie  followlMg  per.sons :  (leneral  L'lne,  Joel 
I 'ahner,  Samuel  II,  Culver,  Captain  .\ ..I.  Sm lib,  1st  Dragoons;  Captain  L.  K.  Mosher, 
adjutant;  Colonel  .John  Hoss.  Captain  .1.  \V.  .N'esmilh,  Liculciuint  A.  V.  Kautz, 
H.  U.  Metcalf,  J.  I).  MaMon,  T.  1".  rierney.  After  riding  a  couple  of  ndles  we  came 
to  where  it  w  as  too  steej)  for  our  horses  to  ascend,  and  dismounting,  we  proceeded 


rxniAX  WAKS  of  EIOHTEEN  KIFTT-TirKKK-FOrU. 


;i5i> 


on  f(H)t.  Half  11  iniU;  of  Hcrambllng  over  rocks  and  through  brusli  brought  us  Into 
tlie  Indians'  stronghold,  juHt  under  the  perpendicular  clitl"  of  Tal)le  Hoclt,  where 
were  gatiiered  hundreds  of  flerce  and  well-armed  savages.  The  business  of  the 
treaty  began  at  once.  Much  tinu;  was  lost  in  translating  and  re-translating  and  it 
was  not  until  late  in  the  afternoon  that  our  lal)ors  were  coniplete<l.  About  the  mid- 
dle of  the  afternoon  an  I  Julian  runner  arrived,  l)ringing  intelligence  of  the  murder 
of  an  Indian  on  .Vpplegate  Creek.  He  said  that  a  company  <>r  whites  under  Cap- 
tain Owens  luul  that  uu)rning  captureil  Jim  Taylor,  a  young  chief,  tied  him  to  u 

confusion 


grei 


>ng 


liuli 


ind  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  they  were  aliout  to  attack  (ieneral   Lane's 


party.  The  (reiu-ral  addressed  tlu'  liuliaiis,  telling  tliem  that  Owens,  who  had 
violated  the  arnustice,  wa«  a  l)ad  man  and  not  "Ue  of  his  soldicix.  He  added  con- 
siderable more  of  a  sort  to  placate  the  Indians,  an<i  limdly  the  matter  of  ".lim's" 
death  was  settled  l>y  the  whites  agreeing  to  pay  danuiges  therefor  in  sliirts  and 
blankets. 

Tilt'  vdliiiitccrs  wen-  at  oiicc  (li,>^l)an(l«'(l  and  ivtiinicd  t<>  their 
luniii's.  It  was  frcrly  predicted  by  a  <'ertain  cUins  (»f  p«;oj)le,  who 
wei'e  .satitified  witli  iiotliinn'  K>s  tliiiii  the  (Xtei'iuiiiatioii  of  the  In 
diaiis,  that  the  treaty  wtnild  j)r()ve  a  laihiie,  and  the)  so  cdndiieti'd 
themselves  as  t«»  render  it  siu-h  as  (|uiekly  us  possilih'.  Uiiiing  the 
arnii.stiee  and  suhseipieiit  to  the  siij;niiiLC  of  (ht^  ti'caty,  these  exter- 
minators maintained  their  efforts  to  kill  as  many   Indians  a.s  they 


(•(tU 


Id, 


rei;a  I'd  less  ot   an\   restrietioli   ulialevi'i-.      Kevenm-  was  tlieii 


motto,  and  they  lived  up  to  it.  Not  half  of  the  outrages  perpetratetj 
«tn  Indians  were  ever  heard  of  throiiiih  newspapers;  yet  there  are 
aceounts  t^f  se\  'lai,  and  these  are  of  a  most  eold-l»looded  description. 
We  v.ill  allude  liuhtly  to  a  fev;  e.xamph's.  Captain  IW)lt  ^\  illiams, 
statii»ned  with  his  eonijiany  on  the  hanks  of  Rogue  River,  attempted 
to  kill  two  ehildi'en,  the  sons  of  Chief  Joe,  but  (Jeuend  Lane,  with 
the  utmost  haste,  ordered  his  removal  from  the  locality  tt>  another, 
where  there  vsould  be  less  opportunity  for  the  exereise  of  his  pi-o- 
pensities.     Of  aiiotln'r  outrage  .Jutlge  l)cad\  writen: — 

.At  (Jravf  Creek  I  stttpped  to  feed  my  liorsi'  anil  get  sonu'thing  o  eat.  There  wa« 
a  lu)uwe  there  called  llif  "  JJatcs  H<)U'«f,"  alter  the  num  who  kept  it.  It  \Misa  rougli, 
wooden  structure  without  a  floor  anci  hod  au  liinnenHe  clapboard  funnel  at  one  end 
which  served  as  a  cliimney.  There  was  noliousf  or  setll'incnt  within  ten  or  twelve 
ndles,  or  more,  of  it.  Tbcrc  I  lountt  ( 'aptaiu  .1 .  iv.  Lamcrick  in  command  of  a  com- 
pany of  voluiilfcrs.  It  ^cems  be  had  been  sent  there  by  ( ieneral  Lane  after  tlie  llglll 
at  Italtle  Creek,  on  account  of  tlu:  muiiler  of  souu>  Imliaiis  there,  of  wliich  he  and 
oihers  gave  nie  the  followi  'f  account:  "Hates  and  some  others  had  indu<'ed  a 
snudi  party  of  pcaceal>le  I  ndiaus,  wlio  lielongc'l  in  ilint  \  ieinily,  to  enter  into  an  cii- 
.ua^enunt  to  renuiiii  at  peace  with  the  whites  duiing  the  war  which  wn"  M"ing  on 
at  some  distance  from  them,  and  liy  way  of  ratillcation  to  this  treaty,  in\  itcd  them 
.1  partake  of  a  feast  in  an  unoccupied  log  liouse  jus!  across  the  road  from  the  "  Hiil)<4 
House"  ;  and  while  they  were  parl^ikiug,  uiuinaed,  of  lhl  •  jiliiHirtd  lioHplliiHty  tht; 


ar.o 


HISTOKT  OF  WILLAMETTK  VALLEY. 


door  waj<  suddenly  fa>itened  upon  them,  and  they  were  deliberately  shot  down 
through  the  erack*  U-twii-n  the  lojjs  hy  their  treaclierous  lK>9ts.  Near  by,  probably 
a  i|uurter  ofa  mile  (his  side  of  the  ereek,  1  was  shown  a  large,  round  hole  into  which 
(he  b<Mlie?<  of  these  murdered  Indians  had  been  unceremoniously  tumbled.  I  did 
not  aev  tbeni.  for  they  were  covered  with  fresh  earth." 

It  «U»e>  in»t  r«'(iuin'  tlu*  tliorouu:li  investigution  to  wliit-b  the 
rt'fnrd^  »»f  tlu-M'  «'V('nt>i  have  Ix't'ii  suhjccted  by  the  ^\riter,  to  tlcter- 
iiiim-  r«uK'hisivt'l\  tluit  whih'  tlic  winter  as  a  class  were  content 
with  tht-  treaty  and  ohedient  to  its  ])ro visions,  there  was  a  eonsiih'r- 
aide  r,ijin«»rity  who  lost  no  t>i»i»oitunity  to  manifest  their  contempt 
<»f  the  in>uiiui»^nt  and  tlu  ir  disregard  of  its  ohligations.  Nor  were 
the  Indians  idle.  As  soon  as  the  report  of  the  killings  at  (irave 
Creek,  at  Apph-irsite  and  other  places,  had  l»een  hruited  abroad, 
and  the  nativt^s  had  beconii-  convinced  that  they  were  individually 
in  as  nmch  danger  as  before,  they  l)egan  committing  outrages  jus  great 
us  tho>»'  from  which  they  had  been  suffering.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
detail  the  many  incidents  which  occurred.  It  is  si-fticient  to  say 
that  thes»'  mutual  outrages  were  committed  fioni  time  to  time  until 
they  resulte*!  in  a  long  and  bloody  war  in  18r)5. 

The  Indians  w«'iv  settled  on  tli«'  reservation  at  Table  Rock, 
where.  als<».  Captain  Smith  established  a  military  i»ost,  which  he 
calle<l  •' Foit  Lane":  and  this  was  foi-  the  next  three  yt  ars  the  base 
of  all  military  operations  in  Southern  Oregon  by  the  regulai*  army. 
Captain  Milh-r's  comj>any  of  volunteers,  one  hundre«l  and  fifteen 
strong,  was  not  disban<led  with  the  others,  but  was  dispatchetl  t<) 
he  Mixh"!-  eountry  by  (Jeiieral  Lane,  where  it  di<l  e.xcellent  service 
f«»r  six  wi-eks  in  protecting  emigrant  trains  in  that  hostile  region. 
Two  men  were  w«»undetl  while  engaged  in  this  service.  These 
occurrenei'<  eomplete  the  hi'.toi'y  of  what  is  known  as  the  "AVar  of 
185."{."  There  is  a  >hort  note  to  be  aj)[teMded  relating  to  the  indebt- 
e<ln»*?*.-  which  grew  «)ut  t)f  tlie  Avar.  This  was  assumcil  l)y  the 
I'nite^l  State's.  The  must<'r-rolls  and  aoc»)unts  of  all  the  eight  coni- 
l)ani«'s  an«l  (ieneral  Lane's  staff  (the  (n-neral  refused  to  accept 
compensation  f«»r  himself),  were  made  out  and  adjusted  bv  C-aptain 
(to«Mlall,  :l<  inspecting  and  nuisteri  .g  offic  r,  r  ling  under  orders 
fioin  <ten«  nil  Lane,  at  the  close  of  the  wiu";  and  these  p!>j»ers  were 
forwaitle-l  ««•  Captain  Aiden  at  N\  ashijigton,  and  being  presented 
to  Congr«-<<  were  promptly  acted  upon  at  the  instance  of  that  otHcer 
and  General  Laue,  iu  his  capacity  as  Delegate  to  Congress  from 


INDIAN  WARS  OF  KIGIITEEN  FIFTY- TIIRKE-FOtH. 


861 


Oregon  Territory,  Ivlajor  Alvord,  Puyiiuister  of  tlie  I'nitecl  States 
army,  under  (ii'deis  from  tlie  Secretary  of  War,  [)ai<l  off  the  volun- 
teers, ill  coin,  at  Jack.sonville  and  Yreka,  in  June  and  July,  \^i)t). 
The  commissary  and  quartermaster  accounts  were  at  tlie  same  time 
sent  in  draft  to  Governor  Curry,  and  by  him  disbursed  to  the  pro])er 
creditors.     The  total  cost  to  the  United  States  was  al)out  )j^285,()()0. 

During  the  year  isr)4  ther<'  wa.s  consider.',  blc  trouble  with  the 
Indians  of  Soalhern  <.>re<;on,  ♦•ausitig  much  troiiblc  and  anxiety  to 
the  settlei'H,  but  never  amounting  to  a  state  of  war.  Much  of  this 
was  caused  by  Tij)su  Tyee,  an  unruly  chief  of  a  small  band  living 
in  the  Siskiyou  Mountains,  lie  wjis  killed  by  Shasta  Indians  that 
summer,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parlies.  In  the  fall  Colonel 
Ross  disj)at<-hed  a  coiMj'jiny  of  volunteers,  uiKh'r  Captain  Jesse 
Walker,  to  escort  emigrants  through  the  Modoc  country,  where 
they  performed  excellent  st  rvice,  and  effectually  guarde(l  the  emi- 
grants till  all  had  j)assed  through  that  dreaded  region. 

What  is  generally  known  as  the  "Snake  liiver  Massacre,"  (»c- 
currred  in  tlie  fall  of  iHai,  and  nearly  added  another  to  the  long 
list  of  Indian  wars  of  the  Pa"iHc  Coast.  For  a  number  of  years 
immigrants  had  been  accustomed  to  relax  their  vigilance  nfU'V 
entering  the  region  dominated  by  the  Iludsi)irs  Hay  Coinpaii} ,  as 
Indians  under  the  influence  of  that  powerful  organization  had  never 
committed  dej)redations  upon  them.  After  leaving  Fort  Jlall  they 
generally  broke  uj)  into  small  pai'ties,  whi'-h  were  strung  along  the 
route  for  miles  without  any  organization  what<'ver.  A  party  of 
this  kind,  consisting  of  Alexander  Ward  and  family  of  wife  and 
ten  children,  Mrs.  William  White,  Dr.  Charles  Adniiis,  Samuel 
Mulligan,  \N'iUiam  Habcock,  and  a  (irerman  whose  name  is  un- 
known, were  attacked  by  Indians  on  the  twciititth  of  August,  on 
the  south  bank  »»f  lioise  River,  twenty-fi\e  miles  above  I'ovt  lioise. 
The  struggle  was  biief.  Ward  and  his  eldest  son  Robert,  Dr. 
Adams,  Habcock,  Mulligan  and  the  txerman  fought  bravely  and 
were  soon  killed.  iNoiinan  Ward,  a  lad  of  thirteen  years,  wjus 
wounded,  but  hid  himself  in  the  l)Ushes,  and  thus  escaped  death. 
The  (»lde>t  daughter  fled,  but  was  pursued  and  overtaken  ;«ftei- i-un- 
niug  some  foiii-  hundred  yards.  She  fougiit  desperate! \  to  frustrate 
the  hellish  designs  of  the  savages,  and  so  eurag«  1  them  by  her  re- 
sistance that  she  was  shot  thivmgh  the  head  .  ad   killeil.     (.>ne   of 


362 


HISTORY  OK  WILLAMKTTK  VALLKY. 


the  five  \\'ii<r»»iis  was  iMinied  at  that  point,  ami  the  h^H\y  of  Miss 
Ward  mutilated  with  a  red  h()t  ii'o)i.  The  other  wt)nieii  and  chil- 
dren wei'e  captured,  and  tlie  sav^ages  started  witli  them  and  four 
wag(»ns  for  their  eanij),  some  half  mile  distant  on  the  river  bank. 
After  pntgn-ssing  a  short  distance  thiough  thf  thick  brush,  they 
stopped  and  Uui'nt'd  three  more  of  the  wagons.  Here  they  selected 
Mrs.  White  as  a  victim  for  the'r  lust,  and  after  they  jiad  abused  her 
in  a  most  lion-ible  manner,  siic  was  dis])atched  by  a  bullet  wound 
in  the  head.  Mrs.  Ward  and  three  small  children  were  taken  with 
the  remaining  wagon  to  theii-  camp,  only  to  undergo  still  greater 
tortures.  The  wagon  was  burned,  and  with  it  the  three  children, 
who  were  grasped  by  the  hair  and  lu'ld  acr«>ss  the  Iturnlng  pile 
until  their  cries  of  agony  wei't'  hushed  in  death;  their  mother  being 
comj)elled  to  witness  their  horrible  sufferings.  She  wa-  then  sub- 
jected to  the  same  fearful  ordeal  endured  by  Mrs.  W  hite,  and  was 
then  killed  by  the  blow  of  a  tomahawk.  The  fate  «»f  the  other 
four  children  never  was  known. 

The  same  day  a  party  of  seven  men — among  them  Mr.  Yantis 
and  a  y«)Uth  named  Ammen — came  to  the  scene  and  attacked  the 
Indians.  In  the  tight  young  Ammen  was  killed,  and  the  others 
were  comjielled  to  retreat,  taking  with  them  the  wound«'ti  Norman 
Waid,  whom  they  liad  found  in  tiie  brush.  Two  days  later  John 
F.  Noble  left  Fort  Boise  with  a  party  of  eigliteen  men  an<l  tli-scov- 
ered  the  bodies  and  e\  idences  of  the  horrible  details  as  above  de- 
scrilted.  I  ln'y  saw  im  Indians,  and  after  burying  the  mangled 
IkhKu's  thi-y  returned.  Tjic  n(;ws  was  cairied  in  hast<'  to  The  Dalles, 
and  Major  Kaines  at  once  dispal died  Maj<)r  llaller  with  a  stn)ngde 
tachment  of  troops  to  t)i<  scene.  Nathan  ( )lney,  Indian  Agent, 
raised  a  comj)any  of  thirty-seven  volunteers  and  acconn»anied  the 
tro«»ps.  When  they  reached  Hoise  Kiver  they  found  the  Indians 
had  retreated  to  the  mountains  beyond  reach.  A  few  days  of  cam- 
paigning di.sclosed  the  fact  that  nothing  could  be  accomplished,  and 
the  force  returned  to  Tilt    Dalles. 

The  «'\citenient  an<l  indignation  was  great  in  the  Willamette 
\'all«'y.  K\  (iovernor  lohn  I*,  (iaines  was  known  to  be  n»ur  l'\»rt 
lioi^  with  two  of  his  s«»ns,  and  it  was  rcporttnl  that  the\.  jis  well  as 
others,  had  also  l)een  kill(;d.  Tliere  was  a  demand  f»»r  punishment 
of  the  jxrpetrutors,  both  a^ii  au  act  of  vcugeuuce  and  lK^^^Ul4e  it  was 


IXDIAN   WARS  OF  EIGHTEEN  KIFTY-THREE-FOrR. 


ana 


necessary  as  a  nu'asuiv  of  protection  for  tlie  emigration  the  follow- 
ing y«mr.  At  last  Governor  Cnrry  issnetl  a  jn'oclaniati«>n  calling  for 
two  companies  of  volunteei's,  to  he  armed,  e(|uip[)e(l  and  mounted 
at  their  own  expense.  A  few  days  later  he  countermandeil  it,  the 
high  officials  of  the  State  Militia — lirigadier  (leneral  J.  AV.  Nes- 
mitli.  Adjutant  (leneral  E.  M.  Barnum,  and  others — having  advised 
him  that  a  winter  eani[>aign  was  not  advisable.  This  brought  out 
a  [»ul»lic  indignation  meeting  in  Portland,  held  Sej)tt'nd)er  ;{(»,  and 
adjourned  to  October  "J,  at  whicii  resolutions,  strongly  condemning 
tlie  (lovernor  and  his  advisers,  were  |)assed.  In  this  there  was  a 
sj)ice  of  the  same  political  feeling  which  tinge<l  every  important 
movement  in  those  days.  T.  J.  Dryer  was  one  of  the  counuittee 
wliich  drafted  tin-  rt'solutions,  and  being  editor  of  the  Oregonian 
and  an  intense  Whig,  this  was  a  splendid  opportunity  for  him  to 
deal  the  Democratic  administration  a  stinging  blow.  In  this  in- 
stance he  was  in  the  right,  f-.r,  in  cjuse  a  cam[>aign  weiv  deemed 
necessary  at  all,  the  winter  season  was  the  best  one  in  which  to 
make  it.  Because  ot  tin-  snow  the  Indians  could  not  retreat  into 
the  mountains  before  tlie  tulvaitce  of  troops,  but  must  remain  in  the 
valleys  with  their  families,  where  they  could  be  ejusily  found  and 
attacked.  In  the  summer,  on  tlie  contrary,  twice  as  many  ti'oops 
and  twice  the  expense  would  be  recpiired  to  pursue  them  through 
the  mountain  wilds.  It  was  chargecl  by  {\w  Whigs  that  this  greater 
exi)ense  was  what  the  "  (iovernment  ring"  desired,  preferring  a  war 
Wk'li  "sometliing  in  it"  t(»  a  shoi't  and  decisive  campaign.  The 
([Uestion  was  taken  into  the  Legislature  the  following  January.  A 
majority  of  tlie  co»:  mil  tee  to  which  it  was  referred  reporte<l  in  'avor 
of  doing  lutthing,  wiiile  the  minority  leported  a  l>ill  j)rovidirg  for 
I'aisiug  ti\e  comii  inies  of  \olunteers  and  pi'osecuting  a  war  Mgainst 
the  Snake  Kiver  Indians.  The  niajority  report  wtis  ad(->[)ted,  and 
the  pro])os»'d  war  collapsed. 

The  following  May,  (iei;cral  \V»)ol,  comman(hint  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Pacific,  dis[)a(ched  Major  Ilaller  with  a  strong  (h'tach- 
ment  t)f  troops  to  guard  the  emigrant  route  from  Fort  Boise.  Mis 
action  was  heartily  j)raise(l  by  every  owv,  an<l  he  was  in  high  feather 
with  the  people  of  Oregon  until  his  conduct,  a  few  months  later, 
displeased  them  and  lost  hiui  his  jdace  in  j»ublic  esteem,  whether 
justly  or  not  the  circumstances  will  show.     When  Major  Ilaller 


864 


lIISTOFiY  OK  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


reached  Fort  B(.)ise  lie  held  a  council  with  the  Indians  of  that  re- 
gion. During  its  prt)gress  four  of  the  AV^innass  Indians,  the  tribe 
which  had  connnittcd  the  massacre,  came  in  to  see  what  was  going 
on.  These  were  arrested  as  soon  as  the  council  was  over,  and  tried 
by  military  court.  One  of  tliem  confessed  and  related  the  cireuni- 
stances,  offering  to  conduct  the  troops  to  the  hiding  place  of  the 
tribe.  Soon  after  doing  this  he  broke  from  his  guanl  and  ran 
toward  the  river,  luit  was  killed  by  a  bullet  from  St-rgj-ant  Kille 
hard's  gun.  Th<' other  three  were  coiidemiu'd  to  be  executed  on  the 
scene  of  their  crime.  The  next  day  the  r«»nunaud  mareh«'d  to  the 
place  of  execution,  and,  afttT  biu'ying  in  one  gravt-  the  bt)nt's  «»f  the 
murdered  emigrants  which  had  been  dug  u]»  by  c«»yotes,  ereetetl  a 
gallows  over  the  mound  and  hanged  all  three  at  one  time.  The 
next  morning  they  were  cut  down  and  buried,  wliilr  tlie  gallows 
wius  left  standing  as  a  warning  to  others  who  might  feel  disposed 
to  murder  miprotected  i-migrants.  The  command  then  went  into 
camp  on  Big  Camas  Prairie  and  remained  during  tlie  sunmn-r,  re- 
turning to  The  Dalles  when  the  emigration  had  all  passed  through. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  OREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  IWVi. 


Inability  of  Indiann  to  form  a  Coherent  Comhiinttion — liofjae  River, 
PiHjet  Sound  and  ddumhia  Hostilities  Distinct  and  Sepantte—Iie- 
hition  of  Whites  and  Indians   in   Rogue   Hirer  Vulleij- -Controversy 
hetu^een  General  Wool  and  the  Citizens — Incidents  before  the  Outbreak 
— TTie  Lnpton  Affair  -  Quick  Revenge  of  the^  Indians — Massacre  of 
October  9th — Heroic  Defense  of  Mrs.  Harris — Great  Excitement  Pre- 
vails— A  Review  of  the  Situation— Causes  which  Led  to  the  War  on 
the  Columbia — Indian  Treaties  nuule  by  Stevens  and  Palmer —  They 
Mislead  the  People  by  Publishing  Incorrect  Statements  of  what  they 
have  Accomplished     Discovery  of  Gold  in,  the  Colville  Region — Sauce 
for  the  Goose  not  Sauce^forthe  Gander   -Murder  of  Mattice—Ilegira 
from  Colville  and  Walhi  Walla — Murder  if  Indian  Agent  Jiolon — 
lli'gula/rs  invade  the  Yakima  Country— Defeat  of  Major   Ilaller — 
Majirr  Raines  Calls  for  Volunteers — Governor  Curry  Calls  for  Ten 
Companies- -General  WooPs  Opinion  of  Governor  Curry's  Conduct 
— Another  (^ause  Assigned  for  the   War — Excitement  in  Willamette 
Valley     The  "  Ongonlan  "  and  ''■Statesman'''' — Wars  and  Rumors  of 
Wars  Alarm  the  People. 


THE  j^ivatcst  Indian  war  known  on  the  Pacific  Coast  wan  the  one 
— (»r,  more  j)r<>]»<'ily  sjM'akint;,  the  three — which  raged  along 
the  C^>hind)ia,  around  Pugct  Sound,  and  in  the  region  of  Rogue 
Ikivcr  from  the  fall  of  1S55  to  the  summer  of  185(i.  No  less  than 
four  thon^iand  warrioi^s  were  at  times  in  arms  against  the  whites, 
and  only  a  lack  of  hearty  and  intelligent  co-operation  on  the  part 
of  the  hostiles  saved  the  outlying  settlements  from  total  annihila- 
tif»n,  and  the  more  populous  communities  of  the  Willamette  Valley 
from  all  the  horrors  of  V)arlmric  warfare. 

Petty  jealousies,  ancient  feuds,  tribal  antipathies,  and  a  lack  of 
confidence  in  the  honor  of  their  allies  has  always  prevented  the 


366 


IIIHTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLKT. 


formation  or  long  oxistenfc  of  a  strong  ooml»ination  among  the  abor- 
igines of  Ann-rica.  Trcat-licry  is  the  ])n'<Ii>niinating  trait  of  the 
Indian  cliuractcr,  jmd  no  one  seems  better  aware  of  tliJit  fact  than 
the  Indians  themselves.  No  nnitter  liow  extensive  an  alliance  some 
powerfnl  and  enlightened  chief  might  he  a])le  to  eftect,  tril»al  jealonw- 
ies  and  distrust  soon  hroke  in  j)ieces  his  rope  of  sand.  'Die  Indians 
of  America  have  been  compelled  to  contend  with  tlie  advancing  tide 
of  (^aiicasian  supremacy,  tril>e  l»y  trihe,  as  the  wave  of  civilization 
reaihed  and  engulfed  it  and  tlien  rolled  on  to  the  next.  In  every 
struggle  tliey  have  made  to  hreast  and  heat  hack  this  mighty  flood, 
they  have  found  themselves  opposed  hy  memhers  of  their  own  race, 
who  helped  to  render  futile  their  impotent  eiTctrts.  Not  infrequently 
has  it  happened  that,  in  the  very  heat  o(  the  campaign,  the  treach- 
ery of  allies  has  dashed  t(»  earth  the  fondest  ho[>es  of  some  great 
chief,  whose  voice  had  called  to  arms  the  warriors  of  neighboring 
tril)es.  King  Philip,  Teeumseh,  Hhick  Hawk,  Osceola,  Captain 
Jack,  Chief  Joseph,  Egan,  and  even  Sitting  Hull,  each  in  his  turn, 
saw  members  of  his  own  race  raise  their  weap«>ns  against  him  and 
aid  the  white  foe  to  crush  him  to  the  ground.  Had  it  been  other- 
wise the  picket  tires  of  Caucji-sian  civilization  might  even  now  be 
burning  on  the  summit  of  the  Alleghenies,  and  the  settlements  on 
the  Atlantic  Coast  only  preserved  from  annihilation  by  a  continuous 
line  of  fortitications  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf.  A  people 
So  warlike,  so  brave,  so  intelligent,  and  so  numerous,  lacked  only 
the  ability  to  successfully  combine  to  have  checked  there  the  ad- 
vancing wave  of  con([uest,  and,  })ossibly,  to  have  rolled  it  back  to 
the  shore  »»f  the  great  Atlantic  Sea. 

The  almost  simultaneous  beginning  of  hostilities  by  the  tribes  so 
widely  se])arated  as  those  of  Rogue  River  Valley  and  the  I*lains  of 
the  Columbia,  was  at  the  time,  regarded  as  conclusive  evidence  of  an 
extensive  and  well-planned  combination  for  the  extermination  of 
the  settlements ;  and  this  has  l)een  the  ]»revailing  opinion  to  the 
present  day.  T(>  one  who  looks  deep«'r  than  these  surface  indica- 
tions, and  studies  the  various  causes  which  led  to  the  beginning  of 
hostilities  in  the  different  regions,  the  <pu^stiou  presents  another 
aspect.  lie  sees  that  totally  distinct  causes  were  in  operation  to 
produce  these  effects,  though,  primarily,  they  sp'-ang  from  the  one 
great  fountain  head  ol  all  our  Indian  wars — the  aggressiveness  of 


THE  OKKAT  OUTBKEAK  OF  ElOIITEEN  FIFTY-FIVK. 


3«7 


the  hi^'her  civUiziitioii  nm\  thr  riiitural  rcsistunt'o  of  a  wiirlikc  p('(»|)lo 
t(»  the  cncroachiiit'iits  of  a  siipcrioi"  rare.  It  was  an  ctTort,  in  the 
one  case,  to  expel  white  inti'U<h'rs  fi-oiii  the  home  of  their  aiieestnis, 
superinduced  l>y  s[)eeial  acts  of  ill-treatment  hy  the  invach-rs;  and  in 
tlie  other  case  an  attempt  to  ward  off  the  same  evils  they  saw  had 
Kefallen  the  triUes  of  otlu'r  re<;ions.  The  oidy  eond>ination  was 
amon<;  the  tribes  livini;  aion^  both  sides  of  the  Columbia,  east  of 
the  Cascade  Moimtains,  and  this  was  l»ut  an  incoherent  union,  man- 
ifested clwefly  in  a  spasmodic  and  transient  eo-operati(»n,  bi'oui;ht 
about  l)y  a  connnunity  of  interest  an<l  a  similarity  (»f  Lrrievaiices. 
Had  there  been  as  thoroUi;;h  a  imion  and  as  perfect  a  blendiiii^  of 
forces  as  was  imaj^ined,  the  conse([uences  to  the  settlements  in  the 
Willamette  woidd  have  been  fearful  to  contemplate.  The  u{)rising 
aloui;  Rojxue  liiver  was  distinct,  and  bi'ou<'ht  about  by  local 
events,  but  occurriiii^  at  the  same  time,  the  resources  of  the  Terri- 
tory were  severely  taxed  to  conduct  campaigns  in  two  regions  so 
remote  from  each  other — where  the  machinery  and  organization  of 
two  separate  and  distinct  armies  ha<l  tt>  be  maintained.  This  con- 
dition of  affairs  served,  also,  to  divide  the  regular  troops  stationed 
here  ])y  the  Government  into  detachments  so  small  that  they  were 
totally  unable  to  cope  with  the  enemy.  'I'he  outbreak  along  the 
southern  and  eastern  shores  of  Puget  Souml,  was,  no  <loubt,  a  re- 
sult (if  the  hostilities  across  the  mountains;  or,  to  better  define  it, 
the  Indians  of  the  Sound  took  advantage  of  this  favorable  opjjor- 
tunity  to  make  an  attempt  to  l)reak  ujt  the  settlements  in  their 
midst,  while  warlike  tribes  living  to  the  north,  in  British  Columbia, 
made  hostile  incursions  in  their  war  canoes,  drawn  hitlier  by  the 
supjMtsed  defenseless  cttnditicm  of  the  people. 

The  first  outburst  of  war's  destructive  flame  occurred  in  Kogue 
River  Valley,  and  was  l)ut  a  continuation  of  that  fierce  race  conflict 
\>-hich  began  with  the  tirst  advent  of  settlers  into  the  valley,  and 
e'lded  only  with  the  extermination  or  removal  of  the  nativi  pro- 
prietoi*8  of  the  soil.  Here,  more  than  at  any  other  place,  had  race 
[.rsjudice  been  develoj)ed  to  its  extreme  })itch  by  four  successive 
years  of  conflict,  Indians  were  both  despised  and  hated.  The  least 
"insolence"  on  their  part  met  with  swift  retriliution,  while  on  the 
other  hand,  indignities  put  upon  them,  even,  in  instances,  to  the 
taking  of  life,  went  uncondeumcd  by  the  better  portion  ci  thi'  com- 


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368 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


munity,  and  by  the  more  irresponsible  and  less  morally  developed, 
were  approved  as  being  "  good  enough  for  them."  There  were 
many  wlio  deprecated  this  condition  of  affairs ;  but  Avhen  they  led 
to  the  inevitable  outbreak,  the  relentless  ferocity  and  barbarous 
cruelty  of  the  savages  soon  united  the  whole  community  in  one  uni- 
versal demand  for  their  extermination.  When  their  property  was 
being  destroyed,  their  families  threatened  with  death,  and  all  the 
horrors  of  barbaric  warfare  were  hovering  over  their  homes,  there 
was  no  time  for  moral  philosophy,  no  time  to  inquire  into  the  causes 
that  had  produced  this  terrible  state  of  affairs.  The  natural  instinct 
of  self-preservation  and  a  spirit  of  vengeance  for  the  death  of  neigh- 
bors and  frieiidn  bound  them  together  in  a  demand  for  retribution, 
and  that  the  savage  perpetrators  of  these  horrible  deeds  be  either 
exterminated  or  placed  beyond  the  possibility  of  repeating  them. 
The  officei's  of  the  regular  army,  whose  duty  it  was  to  protect  the 
people  and  keej)  the  Indians  m  subjection,  were  inclined  to  inquii'e 
more  closely  into  the  origin  of  these  difficulties,  and  in  their  official 
reports  frequently  condemned  irresponsible  whites  for  precipitating 
the  uprising  which  they  were  called  upon  to  subdue.  It  was  so  in 
this  instance,  and  Captains  Judah  and  Smith  and  General  Wool 
were  severely  condemned  by  the  people  and  press  of  Oregon  for 
their  strictures  upon  the  ante-bellum  conduct  of  the  white  people; 
though  it  was  their  dilatory  action  and  half-liearted  method  of 
conducting  their  campaigns  which  dre^v  down  upon  them  the 
severest  criticism.  Much  of  this  was  undeserved,  yet  it  must  be 
admitted  that  General  Wool  allowed  himself  to  be  governed  too 
much  by  his  opinion  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  wars  and  not 
enough  by  the  critical  condition  of  affairs  after  liostilities  had 
actually  been  commenced.  Believing  firmly  that  the  whites  were 
responsi})le  for  the  outbreak,  he  considered  that  his  duty  only  re- 
quired him  to  defend  the  settlements  from  attack,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  people  demanded  of  him  an  aggressive  campaign. 
This  led  to  a  lack  of  harmonious  action  between  the  volunteers  and 
regulars  in  the  field,  and  to  much  abuse  and  misrepresentation. 
Passion,  pride  and  prejudice  seemed  to  hold  su<^,h  perfect  sway,  that 
newspaper  editorials  and  communications,  private  cc^'respondence 
and  official  reports  all  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  reliability.  Had 
General  Wool  recognized  the  fact  that,  no  matter  what  was  the 


.'IS 

(jet 


THE  GREAT  OFTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY-FIVE. 


369 


origin  of  hostilities,  tlie  future  security  of  the  people  required  tliat 
ii  severe  castigation  be  adniinis^  ered  to  the  turbulent  tribes,  and  had 
he  promptly  entered  upon  the  vigorous  campaign  he  was  afterwards 
compelled  to  make,  his  name  ^vould  now  be  revered  in  Oi'egon  as 
is  that  of  his  successor — the  noble  Colonel  AV'right.  War  having 
once  been  begun  with  savages,  it  was  folly  to  adopt  a  defensive 
policy.  Nothing  but  an  aggressive  campaign,  ending  in  a  complete 
defeat  and  humiliation  of  the  enemy,  can  ever  con(|uer  a  lasting 
peace  with  such  a  foe.  General  Wool  should  have  known  this  and 
acted  accordingly.  He  was  right  in  condemning  the  conduct  of  the 
whites  in  drawing  down  upon  innocent  heads  the  vengeance  of 
savages,  but  he  was  wrong  in  jiermitting  this  to  interfere  with  tliat 
vigorous  discharge  of  his  duty  as  the  commanding  officer  of  this 
department,  which  the  proper  protection  of  those  innocent  heads 
demanded.  A  l)rief  sunnnary  of  the  events  of  the  intercourse  be- 
tween the  two  races  in  the  llogue  River  Valley,  between  the  close 
of  hostilities  in  1854  and  tl'eir  inauguration  again  the  following 
year,  will  show  that  the  severe  war  which  then  began  was  caused 
V»y  the  custom  both  the  whites  and  Indians  had  of  taking  revenge 
for  the  killing  of  any  of  their  number,  by  attacking  parties  not  only 
innocent,  but  entirely  ignorant,  of  the  deed  for  which  vengeance 
was  being  exacted.  This  hab'fc,  and  especially  its  manifestation  in 
the  Lupton  affair,  explain  (xeneral  Wool's  strong  condemnation  of 
the  men  whom  he  charged  with  responsibility  for  the  war. 

There  were  a  few  detached  incidents  in  1854,  which  could  not 
be  said  to  be  associated  in  any  way  with  a  design  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians  to  make  war  or  commit  outrages,  yet  they  served  to  keep 
ali\e  tlie  general  feeling  of  insecurity  and  spirit  of  hostility  on  the 
j)art  of  the  whites.  About  the  middh?  of  April  Edward  Phillips 
was  murdered  in  his  cabin  on  Applegate  Creek,  anil  an  investiga- 
tion showed  that  Indians  had  committed  the  deed  for  the  purpose 
of  robbery.  Though  this  should  have  been  considered  an  individual 
crime,  as  it  would  have  been  had  the  perpetrators  l)een  white  men 
— and  such  acts  by  white  men  were  by  no  means  rare — it  was 
charged  to  the  general  Indian  account,  to  be  settled,  whenever  op-' 
portunity  occurred,  with  any  Indians  who  might  be  so  unfortunate 
as  to  be  selected  to  balance  the  score.  In  September  a  number  of 
people  were  killed  by  the  members  of  Tipsu  Tyee's  band.     An  im- 


370 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


migi'ant  named  Stewart  was  murdered  while  passing  with  his  wagon 
along  the  trail.  On  the  second  of  September  an  affray  occurred  in 
the  upper  part  of  Bear  Creek  Valley,  Jackson  County,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  death  of  a  Avhite  man  and  the  wounding  of  two  others. 
A  few  days  previously  Indians  stole  some  horses  from  B.  Alberding. 
The  owner  summoned  his  neighbors  to  assist  in  recovering  them, 
and  a  very  small  company  set  out  on  the  quest.  Following  the  trail, 
they  walked  into  an  amljuscade  and  were  fired  upon.  Granville 
Keene  was  killed,  and  Alberding,  J.  Q.  Faber  and  another  man 
were  wounded.  The  party  hastily  retired,  leaving  the  body  of 
Keene  where  it  fell.  On  the  following  day  a  detachment  of  troops 
from  Fort  Lane  proceeded  to  the  scene  of  the  conflict  and  obtained 
the  much  mutilated  remains,  but  the  Indians,  of  course,  were  gone. 
The  next  event  occurred  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  September.  On 
the  previous  day  Harrison  B.  Oatman,  Daniel  P.  Brittain  and  Cal- 
vin M.  Fields  started  from  Phcenix,  each  driving  an  ox-team  loaded 
with  flour  destined  for  Yreka.  Camping  the  first  night  near  the 
foot  of  Siskiyou  Mountain,  the  train  started  up  the  ascent  in  the 
morning.  When  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  summit,  Brit- 
tain, who  was  in  the  rear,  heard  five  shots  fired  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  men  in  the  advance.  Hurrying  up  the  rise  he  quickly  came  in 
sight  of  the  teams,  which  were  standing  still,  while  an  Indian  was 
apparently  engaged  in  stripping  a  fallen  man.  Turning  })ack,  Brit- 
tain ran  down  the  mountain,  followed  by  a  bullet  from  the  Indian's 
rifle,  but  made  his  way  unhurt  to  the  Mountain  House,  three  miles 
from  the  scene  of  the  attack.  Six  men  hastily  mounted  and  re- 
turned to  the  summit.  Oatman,  meanwhile  had  escaped  to  Hugiies' 
house,  on  the  California  side,  and  obtained  help.  He  reported  that  a 
youth  named  Cunningham  was  passing  Oatman  and  Fields  when  the 
attack  was  made,  and  that  he  wrs  wounded  at  the  instant  Fields  fell 
dead.  The  latter's  body  was  lying  in  the  road,  stripped,  but  Cun- 
ningham was  only  found  the  next  day,  lying  dead  by  a  tree  behind 
which  he  had  taken  refuge.  On  the  following  day  Samuel  Warner 
was  murdered  on  Cottonwood  Creek,  not  far  from  the  scene  of  the 
other  tragedy,  and  most  likely  by  the  same  Indians.  These  repeated 
outrages  produced  a  very  considerable  degree  of  alarm,  but  no 
military  measures  of  importance  were  taken,  except  by  the  officials 
at  Fort  Lane,  who  sent  forty  mounted  troops  to  the  various  scenes  of 
bloodshed,  who  returned  without  having  effected  anjrthing. 


THE  GREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY-FIVE. 


371 


The  first  overt  act  in  1855  was  comrjitted  by  a  party  of  Illinois 
Indians,  who  crossed  the  mountains  to  Klamath  River  and  robbed 
some  cabins  near  Happy  Camp,  and  then  pi'occeded  to  Indian 
Creek  and  killed  a  man  named  Hill,  or  Hull,  retreating  to  the  head 
of  Slate  Creek  with  cattle  they  had  stolen  from  Hay's  ranch.  Tliis 
was  on  the  eighth  of  May,  and  on  the  following  day  Samuel  Fijye 
set  out  from  Hay's  ranch  with  a  force  of  eight  men,  and  coming 
suddenly  upon  the  culprits,  killed  or  wounded  three  of  them.  He 
then  returned  for  reinforcements,  and  returning  with  them  the  next 
day  he  found  the  enemy  had  taken  advantage  of  the  respite  from 
attack  to  visit  Deer  Creek  and  kill  a  man  named  Philpot,  and 
seriously  wound  James  Mills.  Settlers  were  thi'o\yn  into  a  fever 
of  apprehension,  and  hastily  gathered  into  a  stockade  at  Yarnall's. 
Lieutenant  Switzer  hastened  from  Fort  Lane  with  a  detachment  of 
twelve  men,  and  soon  discovered  that  the  Indians  had  murdered 
Jerome  Dyer  and  Daniel  McCae,  on  Applegate  Creek,  and  escaped 
eastward.  They  were  followed,  captured  and  taken  to  Fort  Lane, 
where  they  were  placed  under  close  guard,  both  for  their  protec- 
tion from  the  eni'aged  citizens,  and  to  prevent  them  fi'om  escaping. 

The  next  event  was  what  is  known  across  the  line  in  Siskiyou 
County  as  the  "  Humbug  War."  This  had  its  origin  in  a  shooting 
scrape  between  a  citizen  and  a  drunken  Lidian",  and  consisted  of  the 
massacre  of  eleven  innocent  miners,  and  the  indiscriminate  killing  of 
many  innocent  and  inoffensive  Indians  by  the  whites  of  that  region. 
The  only  connection  it  had  with  Oregon  was  the  flight  of  a  baud  of 
Indians,  among  them  the  originator  of  the  trouble,  to  Fort  Lane, 
and  their  pursuit  by  five  companies  of  volunteers  from  the  Cali- 
fornia side.  These  made  a  demand  upon  Captain  Smith  for  the 
fugitives,  but  the  oflicer  declined  to  surrender  them  to  any  one  ex- 
cept the  regular  authorities,  and  though  the  exasperated  volunteers 
threatened  to  take  them  by  force,  they  thought  better  of  that  rash 
project  and  returned  to  California. 

Our  account  now  approaches  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1855-6, 
by  some  thought  to  have  been  the  result  of  the  incidents  above  re- 
counted. It  is  truly  difficult  at  this  time  to  accord  these  circum- 
stances their  proper  infiuence  in  the  acts  which  followed.  It  is 
evident  that  the  people  of  Eogue  River  Valley,  toward  the  end  of  the 
summer  of  1855,  must  have  felt  an  additional  degree  of  insecurity, 


■M 


HISTORY  OF   WILLAMETTK  VALLEY. 


>>ut  that  it  was  wholly  in  consequence  of  the  murders  which  had 
)))'e\ioiisly  taken  place  does  not  seem  probable,  inasmuch  as  these 
muidci's  were  committed  outside  the  valley,  and  the  most  aggra- 
N'ated  ones  ueai'l}'  a  year  before.  Their  legitimate  results  could 
liardly  lia\e  been  suificient  to  stir  up  a  geueral  war  against  the 
Indians,  so  we  are  left  to  conjecture  the  gi'owth  of  a  public  senii- 
nient  detei-iiiiued  upon  war.  The  vast  majority  of  settlers,  wearied 
of  constant  anxiety,  heartily  and  unaffectedly  believed  that  the  re- 
moval of  the  Indians  was  desii-able  and  necessary.  Whatever  may 
ha\'e  l)een  the  e.xact  status  of  the  war  party,  and  whatever  the  in- 
fluence of  the  speculatixt'  branch  of  it,  it  is  clear  there  was  no  out- 
spoken o|)position,  such  as  would  have  been  created  by  a  general 
sentiment  in  favor  of  peaceful  methods.  Almost  the  only  outspoken 
advocate  of  Indians'  rights  was  compelled  to  leave  the  country  of 
liis  adoption  fi-om  fear  of  personal  violence.  Whoever  doubts  the 
acerbity  of  jjublic  sentiment  at  that  date,  will  do  well  to  pause  here 
and  digest  that  statement,  comparing  with  it  the  tenor  of  the  edito- 
rial remarks  to  be  found  in  the  Jacksonville  Sentinel  at  that  time. 
If  such  publications  ma}-  be  trusted  to  gauge  public  sentiment,  the 
Fi'elin*''  of  absolute  enmitv  against  the  natives  must  have  increased 
ten-fold  since  the  signing  of  the  Lane  Treaty.  This  feeling  of  hos- 
tility was  sufficient  to  cause  the  following  outrage  to  receive  the 
endoi'sement  of  a  large  portion  of  the  community;  and  this  was  the 
incident  wlii(;h  (leneral  AV'ool  so  freely  criticised  and  strongly  con- 
demned, and  for  doing  which  lie  was  so  roundly  abused  l)v  the  press 
of  Oregon. 

On  the  se\enth  of  October,  ls.")5,  a  party  of  men,  principally 
miners  and  men-about-town,  in  Jacksonville,  oi-ganized  and  armed 
themselves  to  the  number  of  a>>out  forty  (accounts  disagree  as  to 
number),  and  under  the  nominal  leadership  of  Captain  Hays  and 
Major  James  A.  Lupton,  Representative -elect  to  the  Territorial 
Legislature,  proceeded  to  attack  a  small  band  of  Indians  encamped 
on  the  north  side  of  Rogue  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Little  Butte 
Creek,  a  few  miles  above  Table  Rock.  Lupton,  it  appears,  w^as  a 
man  of  no  experience  in  bush  fighting,  but  was  rash  and  headstrong. 
It  is  the  prevailing  opinion  that  he  was  led  into  the  affair  through 
a  wish  to  court  popularity,  which  is  almost  the  only  incentive  that 
could  have  occurred   to  him.     Certainly,  it  could  not  have  been 


THE  GUKAT  OUTBREAK  OF  KlftHTKEN   FIKTY-FI V  K. 


and 
rinl 


plunder;  and  the  mere  love  of  fighting   Indians,  wL'ch  <h'ew  tin- 
greater  [)art  of  the  force  together,  was,  perhaps,  absent  in  \m  ease. 
The  reason  why  the  particular  band  at  Butte  Creek  was  selected  as 
victims  also  appears  a  mystery,  although  the  circumstances  of  their 
location  being  accessible  and  their  numV>ers  small,  possibly   were 
the  ruling  considerations.     This  band   of   Indians  appear  to  have 
behaved  themselves  toleral)ly;  they  were  pretty  fair  Indians,  b\it 
beggars,  and,  on  occasion,  thieves.     They  had   l)een   concerned    in 
no  considerable  outrages  that  ai-e  distinctly  specified.     Tlie  attack- 
ing party  arri\"ed  at  the  j-iver  in  the  evening,  and  selecting  a  hi<liiig 
place,  remained  until  daylight,  the  appointed   time  for  the  attack. 
The  essential   }>articu]ars  of  the  fight  wliich  followed   are.   when 
separated  from  a  tangle  of  contradictory  minuti:e.  that  Lupton  and 
his  party  fired  a  volley  into  the  crowded  encampment,  following  uj) 
tlie  sudden  and  totallv  nne.\'i)ected  attack  bv  a  ch>se  encounter  with 
knives,  revolvers,  and  whatever  weapon  they  were  possessed  of,  and 
the  Indians  were  driven  away  or  killed   without  making  much   re- 
sistance.    These  facts  are  matters  of  evidence,  as  are  also  the  kill- 
ing of  several  sc^uaws,  one  or  more  old  decrepit  men,  and  a  num))ei'. 
probaldy  small,  of  children.     Captain  Smith  reported  to  the  Gov- 
ernment that  eighty  Indians  were  slaughtered.     Others   place  the 
number  at  thirty.     The  exact  condition  of  things  at  the  fight,   oi" 
massacre,  as  some  have  characterized   it,   is  difficidt  to  determine. 
Accounts  vary  so  widely  that  by  some  it  has  l»een  termed  a  heroic 
attack,  and  others  have  called  it  an  indiscriminate  l)utchery  of  de- 
fenseless and  peaceful  natives.    To  temporize  with  such  occurrences 
-toes  not  become  tliose  who  seek  the  truth  only,  and    the  world 
would  be  better  coulfl  such  deeds  meet  at  once  the  proper  penalty 
and    be    kninvn    by    their    proper    name.      Lupton    was    mortally 
wounded  l)y  an    arrow   which  penetrated   his  lungs,  and  a  young 
man  named  She]>her(l  was  slightly  wounded.     As  usual,  tlie  storm 
of  barbaric  vengeance  fell  upon  the  heads  of  the  innocent  and    de- 
fenseless.    Swift  and  cruel  was  the  revenge  of  the  Indians  for  this 
great  and    unexpected  otitrage  which  had    been   committed    upon 
them,  and  the  massacre  of  defenseless  settlers,   unAvanied   of   their 
danger,  is  one  of  the  saddest  pages  of  Oregon's   pioneei-   liistory. 
Language  can  not  too  strongly  condemn  the  act  which  precipitated 
such  a  bloody  scene,  and  much  of  the  time  and  breath   spent  in 


374 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


abuse  of  (jreneral  Wool  and  execration  of  the  Indians  should  have 
been  devoted  to  the  denunciation  of  this  l)rutal  and  unwarranted  act. 
Early  on  thn  morning  of  October  ninth,  t^vo  da}  s  after  this  affair 
on  Rutte  Creek,  several  of  the  more  war-like  bands  gathered  aV)out 
Tal)le  Hock,  and  started  down  the  river  with  their  families,  arms, 
and  other  property,  bent  on  war.  Tlieir  first  act  was  to  murder 
William  Goin,  or  Going,  a  teamster,  native  of  Missoui'i,  and  em- 
ployed on  the  reservation.  Standing  by  the  fire-place  in  conversa- 
tion with  Clinton  Schieffelin,  he  was  fatally  shot,  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  The  particular  individuals  wdio  accomplished  this 
killing  were,  says  Mr.  Schieffelin,  members  of  John's  band  of 
Applegates,  who  \vere  encamped  on  Ward  Creek,  a  mile  above  its 
mouth,  and  twelve  miles  distant  from  the  camp  of  Sam's  band. 
Hurrying  through  the  darkness  to  Jewett's  Ferry,  these  hostiles, 
now  reinforced  liy  the  band  of  Limpy  and  Geoi'ge,  found  there  a 
pack-train  loaded  with  mill-irons.  Hamilton,  the  man  in  charge 
of  it,  was  killed,  and  another  individual  was  severely  wounded. 
They  next  began  firing  at  Jewett's  house,  within  which  w^ere  several 
persons  in  bed.  Meeting  with  resistance,  they  gave  up  the  attack 
and  moved  to  Evans'  Ferry,  which  they  reached  at  daybreak.  Here 
they  shot  Isaac  Shelton,  of  the  Willamette  Valley,  en  route  for 
Yreka.  The  next  victim  was  Jones,  proprietor  of  a  ranch,  whom 
they  shot  dead  near  his  house.  The  house  was  set  on  fire,  and 
Mrs.  Jones  was  pursued  by  an  Indian  and  shot  wdth  a  revolver, 
when  she  fell  senseless,  and  the  savage  retired,  supposing  her  dead. 
She  revived  and  was  taken  to  Tufts'  place  and  lived  "a  day.  O.  P. 
Robbins,  Jones'  partner,  was  hunting  cattle  at  some  distance  from 
the  house.  Getting  upon  a  stump  he  looked  about  him  and  saw 
the  house  on  fire.  Correctly  judging  that  Indians  were  abroad,  he 
proceeded  to  Tufts  and  Evans'  places.  The  former  place  the 
Indians  had  already  visited  and  shot  Mrs.  Tufts  through  the  body, 
but  being  taken  to  Illinois  Valley  she  recovered.  Six  miles  north 
of  Evans'  Ferry  the  Indians  killed  two  men  who  were  transporting 
supplies  from  the  W^illamette  Valley  to  the  mines.  The  house 
of  J.  B.  Wagner  was  burned,  Mrs.  Wagner  being  previously  mur- 
dered, or,  as  an  unsubstantiated  story  goes,  was  compelled  to  remain 
in  it  until  dead.  This  is  refinement  of  horrors,  indeed.  For  a  time 
her  fate  was  unknown,  but  it  was  finally  settled  thus.     Mary,  her 


THE  GREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY-FIVE. 


375 


little  daughter,  was  taken  to  the  Meadows,  on  Lower  Rogue  River, 
some  weeks  after,  according  to  the  Indians'  own  accounts,  but  died 
there.  Mr.  AVagner,  being  away  from  home,  escaped  death.  Com- 
ing to  Haines'  house,  Mr.  Haines  being  ill  in  bed,  they  shot  him  to 
death,  killed  two  children  and  took  his  wife  prisoner.  Her  fate 
was  a  sad  one,  and  is  yet  wrapped  in  mystery.  It  seems  likely, 
from  the  stories  told  by  the  Indians,  that  the  unhappy  woman  died 
about  a  week  afterwards,  from  the  effects  of  a  fever  aggravated  by 
improper  food. 

At  about  nine  o'clock  a.  m.  the  savages  approached  the  house  of 
Mr.  Harris,  about  ten  miles  north  of  Evans',  where  dwelt  a  family 
of  four — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harris  and  their  two  children,  Mary, 
aged  twelve,  and  David,  aged  ten  years.  With  them  resided  T.  A. 
Reed,  an  unmarried  man.  Reed  was  some  distance  from  the 
house,  and  was  set  upon  l)y  a  party  of  hostiles  and  killed.  His 
skeleton  was  found  a  year  after.  David,  the  little  son,  in  all  like- 
lihood, was  taken  into  the  woods  by  his  captors  and  slain,  as  he 
was  never  after  heard  of.  Mi-.  Harris  was  surprised  by  the  Indians, 
and  retreating  to  the  house,  was  shot  in  the  breast  as  he  reached 
the  door.  His  wife,  with  the  grcjatest  courage  and  presence  of 
mind,  closed  and  barred  the  door,  and  in  (jliedience  to  her  wounded 
husband's  advice;,  brought  dow^n  the  fire-ai'ms  which  the  house  con- 
tained— a  rifle,  a  double-liarreled  shotgun,  a  revolver  and  a  single- 
barreled  pistol — and  began  to  fire  at  the  Indians  to  deter  them  from 
assaulting  or  setting  Are  to  the  house.  Previous  to  this  a  shot  fired 
by  the  Indians  had  wounded  her  little  daughter  in  the  arm,  and  the 
terrified  child  climbed  to  the  attic  of  the  dwelling  where  she  re- 
mained for  several  hours.  Throughout  all  this  time  the  heroic 
woman  kept  the  savages  at  bay,  and  attended,  as  well  as  she  was 
able,  the  wants  of  her  husband,  who  expired  in  about  an  hour 
after  he  was  shot.  Fortunately,  she  had  been  taught  the  use  of  fire- 
arms; and  to  this  she  owed  her  preservation  and  that  of  her  daughter. 
The  Indians,  who  could  be  seen  moving  about  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
house,  were  at  pains  to  keep  within  cover  and  dared  not  approach 
near  enough  to  set  fire  to  the  dwelling,  although  they  burned  the 
out-buildings,  first  taking  the  horses  from  the  stable.  Mrs.  Harris 
steadily  loaded  her  weapons  and  fired  them  through  the  crevices  be- 
tween the  logs.     In  the  afternoon  the  Indians  drew  off  and  left  the 


37fi 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


stout-hearted  woimin  inistress  of  the  field.  She  hiu\  saved  her  own 
and  her  daughter's  life,  and  added  a  deathh'ss  j)age  to  the  record  of 
the  country's  liistory.  After  the  (h'parture  of  the  savages,  the 
heroine,  with  her  (Uiughter,  left  the  house  and  sought  refuge  in  a 
thicket  of  willows  near  the  road,  and  remained  there  all  night. 
Next  morning  severjd  Indians  passed,  but  did  not  discover  them. 

When,  on  the  day  of  the  massacre,  a  rider  dashed  int(»  Jackson- 
ville and  tpiickly  told  tlie  news,  great  excitement  j)ri'vailed.  Al- 
most immediately  a  score  of  men  were  in  th''ir  saddles  and  pushing 
toward  the  river.  Major  Fit/.gei'ald,  stationed  at  Fort  Lane,  went 
at  the  head  of  fifty-five  mounted  men,  and  these  going  with  the 
volunteers,  proceeded  along  the  track  of  ruin  and  desolation  left  by 
the  savages.  At  Wagiu'r's  house  sonu'  five  or  six  volunteers,  who 
were  in  advance,  came  upon  a  few  Indians  hiding  in  the  brush  near 
by,  who,  unsusjjicious  of  the  main  body  advancing  along  the  road, 
challenged  the  whites  to  a  fight.  INFajor  Fitzgerald  came  uj)  and 
ordered  a  charge;  and  six  of  the  "red  devils"  were  killed,  and  the 
rest  driven  "on  the  jump"  to  the  hills,  but  could  not  be  overtaken. 
Giving  up  the  pursuit,  the  regulars  and  volunteers  marched  along 
the  road  to  the  Harris  house,  where  they  found  the  devoted  mother 
and  her  child  and  removed  them  to  Jacksonville.  A  conqiany  of 
volunteers  led  by  Captain  Rinearson,  hastily  came  from  Cow  Creek 
and  scoured  the  country  about  Grave  ('reek  and  vicinity,  finding 
quite  a  number  oi  bodies  of  nuirdered  men.  On  the  twenty-fifth 
of  October  the  body  of  J.  B.  Powell,  of  Lafayette,  Yamhill  County, 
was  found  and  buried.  James  White  and Fox  had  been  pre- 
viously found  dead.  All  the  houses  along  the  Indians'  route  had 
y)een  robbed  and  then  burned,  with  two  or  three  exceptions. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  picture  the  state  of  alarm  which  pre- 
vailed when  the  full  details  of  the  massacre  were  made  known. 
The  people  of  Rogue  River  Valley,  probably  without  exception, 
withdrew  from  their  ordinary  occupations  and  "  forted  up  "  or  re- 
tired to  the  larger  settlements.  Jacksonville  was  the  objective  point 
of  most  of  these  fugitives,  who  came  in  on  foot,  on  horse  or  mule 
back,  or  with  their  families,  or  more  portable  property  loaded  on 
wagons  drawn  by  oxen.  In  every  direction  mines  were  abandoned, 
farms  and  fields  were  left  unwatched,  the  herdsman  forsook  his 
charge,  and  all  sought  refuge  from  the  common  enemy.     The  in- 


THE  OREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN   FIFTY   FIVE. 


877 


of 


dustries  were  brought  to  a  standstill,  ami  tnide  and  coimiierce  be- 
came instantly  paralyzed.  All  business  and  plciisui-e  were  forsaken 
to  devise  means  to  meet  and  vaiKpiish  the  hostile  bands.  Nor  was 
this  state  of  affairs  eoniined  to  the  Rogue  River  country.  The 
people  of  the  AVillamette  Valley  caught  the  infection,  and  for  a 
time  the  depi'essing  expectation  of  Indian  forays  racked  many  a 
breast.  Tiie  Oregon  papers  of  that  date  were  full  of  matter  calcu- 
lated to  show  the  extreme  state  of  ap[)r('hension  existing  throughout 
the  State,  caused  by  these  events  and  outi-ages  conuuitted  at  the 
same  time  by  Indians  north  of  the  Columbia.  It  will  he.  believed 
that  there  was  am|)le  reason  for  such  a  feeling  among  those  who 
lived  south  of  the  Calapooias.  The  settlers  on  the  llmp(pia  and  its 
tributaries  were  obviously  endangered.  They  retired  to  places  of 
safety  until  the  Indian  scare  had  settled  down  to  a  steady  wai'fare. 
At  Scottsburg,  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  the  seat  of  war,  the 
inhabitants  thus  took  refuge.  On  Cow  Creek  on  tlie  twenty-fourth 
of  October,  Indians  made  an  attack  <m  some  hog-drovers  from  Lane 
County,  who  were  traversing  the  road.  H.  Bailey  was  killed  in- 
stantly, and  Z.  Bailey  and  three  others  wt>unded.  The  Indians 
bm'iied,  on  that  day,  the  houses  of  Turner,  Bi-ay,  Fortune,  Redlield, 
and  one  other.  Mr.  Redfield  placed  his  family  in  a  wagon  and 
started  for  a  place  of  safety,  l)ut  soon  his  horses  \vere  shot,  and  he 
took  his  wife  upon  his  l)ack  and  carried  her  to  a  fortified  place,  be- 
fore reaching  which  she  was  wounded. 

It  should  be  remarked  that  the  situation  in  Southern  Oregfon 
was  even  more  serious  than  was  thought  possilde  ])y  those  who 
viewed  these  affairs  from  abroad,  or  through  the  distorting  medium 
of  the  newspapers.  The  people  were  beset  on  all  sides  l)y  sa\ages, 
tliey  knew  not  how  numerous,  who  might  strike,  they  knew  not 
where.  The  extent  of  the  Indian  uprising  was  not  at  first  under- 
stood. The  Indians  were  well  supplied  with  anununition,  and  had 
guns,  rifles,  revolvers  and  knives,  as  great  in  assortment  and  better 
in  quality  than  the  whites  themselves  were  provided  with.  Besides, 
of  the  several  thousand  Indians  who  inhabited  Southern  Oregon,  no 
one  could  tell  which  band  might  dig  up  the  hatchet  and  go  on  tlie 
war  path  in  imitation  of  those  who  were  already  so  actively  butch- 
ering and  burning.  The  Table  Rock  band,  steadfastly  friendly, 
withstood  the  temptation  to  avenge  their  undoubted  grievances,  and 


378 


HI8T0RY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


remained  upon  the  reservation,  tlu!re))y  diminii^hing  the  enemy's 
force  very  considerably.  The  Coast  Indians,  formidable  and 
dangerous  barbarians,  as  yet  had  not  been  influenced  to  join  the 
malcontents.  To  opposi;  such  an  array  of  active  murderers  and  in- 
cendiaries, the  General  drover  nnent  had  a  snuill  number  of  troops, 
unfitted  to  perform  the  chities  of  Indian  fighting  by  reason  of  their 
unsuitable  mode  of  divss,  tactics,  and  their  dependence  upon  ([\u\v- 
termaster  and  connuissary  trains.  The  formation  of  volunteer  com- 
panies and  the  enrollment  of  men,  began  inunediately  upon  'Jie 
receipt  of  the  news  of  the  outbreak.  The  chief  settlements  became 
centers  of  enlistment,  and  to  them  resorted  the  farmers,  miners,  and 
traders  of  the  vicinity,  who,  with  the  greatest  unanimity,  enrolled 
themselves  as  volunteers  to  carry  on  the  war  which  all  now  saw 
to  be  unavoidable.  On  the  tv,v]fth  of  October,  Jolm  E.  Iloss,  Col- 
onel of  the  Ninth  Regiment  of  Oregon  Militia,  assumed  command 
of  the  forces  already  raised.  Recognizing  the  need  of  mounted 
troops,  lie  made  proclamation  calling  into  service  men  provided 
with  liorses  and  arms,  and  in  two  days  had  increased  his  command 
to  nine  companies,  aggregating  five  huiuh-ed  men.  Several  of  these 
companies  had  ])een  on  iluty  from  the  day  succeeding  the  nuissacre, 
so  prompt  did  theii'  memlx'i's  respond  to  the  call  of  duty.  The  reg- 
iment was  increased  by  the  first  of  Novembei'  to  fifteen  companies, 
containing  an  average  of  fifty  men  each,  or  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
in  all.  It  is  justly  thought  remarkable  that  such  a  force  could  have 
been  so  quickly  raised  in  a  country  of  such  a  limited  population  as 
Southern  Oregon.  If  we  examine  the  muster-rolls  of  the  different 
companies  Ave  shall  be  struck  by  tlie  youth  of  the  volunteers — the 
average  age  being  not  beyond  tAventy-four  years.  From  all  direc- 
tions they  came — these  young,  prompt  and  brave  men= — from  every 
gulch,  hill-side  and  plain,  from  every  mining  claim,  trading  post  and 
farm  of  that  extensive  region,  and  from  the  s^'mpathizing  towns  and 
mining  camps  of  Northern  California,  which,  also,  sent  their  contin- 
gents. Their  animals  were  gathered  from  pack-trains,  farms  and 
towns,  and  were  in  many  cases  unused  to  the  saddle.  But  the  exi- 
gencies of  war  did  not  allow  the  rider  to  hesitate  bet\veen  a  horse 
and  a  mule,  or  to  humor  the  whims  of  the  stubborn  mustang  or  in- 
tractable cayuse.  With  the  greatest  celerity  and  promptness  the 
single  organizations  had  hui'ried  to  the  rescue  of  the  outlying  settle- 


.jfTik^'^A 


THE  GREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY-FIVE. 


379 


menta,  and  in  immy  ciiscs  preserved  the  livi-s  of  settlers  nieiuieed  })y 
Indiiins.  Captain  Uineai'son,  at  Cow  Creek,  enrolled  thirty-five 
men  on  the  day  following  the  nui.^saere,  and  hy  nightfall  had 
stationed  his  men  so  as  to  effectually  guard  many  miles  of  the  road, 
leaving  men  at  the  Canyon,  at  Levens'  Station,  at  Turnei-'s,  and 
a  strong  foi'ce  at  ITarkiiess  and  TwogexHl's  Grave  Creek  House,  and 
sending  others  down  (irave  Creek  and  to  (laleee  Creek.  By  this 
prompt  display  of  force  fhe  Indians  were  overawed,  and  refrained 
from  exposing  themselves  by  continuing  their  raids  in  the  valley; 
and  the  peojde,  seeing  such  an  armed  force  in  their  midst,  began  to 
regain  calmness  and  coniidence. 

Having  considered  tiie  various  incidents  Avnich  led  to  the  out- 
break in  iSoutlu'rn  Oregon,  we  will  leave  the  nuisVering  hosts  and 
turn  to  the  north  to  review  the  causes  tf  the  war  along  the  Colum- 
bia. The  totally  different  condition  of  affairs  renders  it  self-evident 
tliat  hostilities  here  were  beu:un  without  the  sliifhtest  reference  to 
what  was  being  done  to  the  south.  Their  concurrent  hajtpening 
was  simply  a  coincidence,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  sujipose  that 
either  would  not  have  occui-red  had  the  other  in  any  manner  been 
prevented.  Among  the  Yakimas,  Klickitats,  Des  Chutes,  Walla 
Wallas,  Cayuses,  Spokanes,  Palouses,  Snakes  and  kindred  tribes, 
the  hostility  to  Americans  was  deep-rooted  and  of  long  standing; 
and  even  the  Nez  Perces  were  beginning  to  imbibe  the  infection. 
The  cause  of  this  has  been  made  to  plainly  appear  in  the  preceding 
pages — the  fear  that  the  Americans  intended  to  take  their  lands. 
This  was  the  great  fundamental  cause  of  the  AVhitman  tragedy  in 
1847,  and  was  the  secret  of  the  ill  favor  with  which  a  "Boston'' 
met  in  the  eye  of  an  Indian  of  that  region.  The  Hudson's  ]?ay 
Company  was  nt)t  included  in  this  feeling  of  hostility  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  even  during  the  times  of  trouble  a  well-known  employee 
of  that  corporation  could  travel  among  the  hostile  tribes  in  perfect 
security.  The  Bostons  had  not  as  yet  taken  up  claims  in  that  re- 
•gion,  and  the  Indians  did  not  propose  to  permit  them  to  do  so  until 
the  land  was  purchased  and  paid  for.  Brooke,  Bumford  and  Noble 
Lad  a  claim  at  Waiilatpu,  and  H.  M.  Chase  on  the  Touchet.  Wil- 
liam C.  McKay,  son  of  Thomas  McKay,  and  looked  upon  as  a  com- 
pany man,  had  located  on  the  Umatilla,  and  with  him  were  Jones 
E.  Whitney  and  family.     A  short  distance  below  them  was  the 


380 


HISTORY  OF  WIT,LAMKTTE  VALLEY. 


agency.  Louis  Raboin,  ah  old  American  trapper  of  French  descent, 
was  living  on  the  Tukannon.  The  only  other  settlers  were  a 
number  of  French  Canadians  and  half-breeds,  former  servants  of 
the  company,  and  nearly  all  married  to  Indian  women,  the  greater 
numl)er  living  along  the  Walla  AValla,  These  were  the  only  settle- 
ments in  the  Walla  Walla  region. 

As  early  as  February,  18.55,  reports  of  a  hostile  spirit  being  ex- 
hibited by  the  Indians  east  of  the  mountains,  were  circulated,  and 
trouble  in  the  near  future  was  predicted.  One  of  the  incidents 
where  this  feeling  was  displayed  was  in  the  case  of  S.  M,  Hamilton 
and  T.  Pierce,  who,  al)out  that  time,  went  to  the  Simcoe  country 
to  locate  a  stock  ranch.  The  Yakimas  woidd  not  permit  them  to 
do  so,  and  informed  them  that  Aia<n*icans  could  not  st^ttle  in  their 
country  until  the  Government  had  bought  and  paid  for  the  land. 
In  consequence  of  this  feeling,  \vhich  was  displayed  by  the  varioiLs 


tribes   on    different   occasion?;,  Governor  Stevens,  of 


Washington 


Territory,  in  his  capacity  of  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  and 
Joel  Palmer,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affair?  for  Oregon,  started 
on  an  extended  trip  through  that  region,  intent  upon  forming 
treaties  with  the  tribes  and  extinguishing  the  Indian  title  to  the 
country.  After  a  long  confei'ence  near  Fort  W  alia  Walla,  they 
concluded  treaties  the  ninth  of  June,  with  seventeen  tribes,  by 
which  was  ceded  to  the  Government  nearly  all  the  region  em])raced 
in  Klickitat,  Yakima,  Kittitas,  Spokane,  Lincoln,  Douglas,  Adams, 
Franklin,  Whitman,  Columbia  and  Walla  Walla  counties,  in  Wash- 
ington Territory,  and  a  portion  of  Union  and  Umatilla  counties,  in 
Oregon,  excepting  the  Yakima  and  Umatilla  reservations. 

The  area  thus  lost  to  the  Indians  was  a  little  over  t\venty-nine 
thousand  square  miles,  for  which  they  were  to  be  paid  as  follows: 
The  fourteen  tribes  termed  the  "Yakima  Nation,''  including  the 
Palouse  Indians,  with  Kama-i-akun  as  head  chief,  were  to  l)e  given 
$200,000.  This  wa.s  to  be  paid  in  yearly  installments — during  the 
first  five  $10,000,  the  next  five  $8,000,  then  $G,000  for  five  years, 
and  for  the  last  five  $4,000 — jiayments  to  commence  in  September, 
1856.  This  left  $60,000  which  were  to  be  expended  in  getting  these 
tribes  on  their  reservation,  for  fitting  it  up  and  to  aid  them  in  learn- 
ing the  art  of  husbandry.  In  addition  to  this  the  head  chief  of 
the  nation  was  to  have  a  house  built  for  him,  with  ten  acres  of  land 


THE  GREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY-FIVE. 


381 


enclosed  and .  plowed,  and  he  was  to  be  paid  $500  per  year  for 
twenty  years  as  a  salary.  To  the  Indians  generally  this  was  a  glit- 
tering temptation,  hut  Kama-i-akun  was  hostile  to  the  transaction 
and  used  his  influence  against  it  without  avail.  From  that  time 
until  his  death  he  was  never  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  later  with- 
drew from  the  war-path  against  th.^m  only  for  want  of  followers. 
Fourteen  chiefs  in  all  signed  this  agreement,  ann)ng  whom  was  the 
unwilling  Kama-i-akun.  The  Walla  Wallas,  Cayuses  and  Uma- 
tillas,  were  to  be  paid  $100,()()(t  for  their  l)irth-right,  with  a  twenty 
years'  annuity  of  $o(»0  to  tlie  head  chief  of  each  of  those  tribes. 
But  for  the  blood  stain  upon  their  hands  of  a  murdered  \\'^hitman, 
the  Cayuses  would  not  have  sold  their  country  to  the  whites.  The 
Umatillas,  knowing  they  were  not  guiltless  in  that  affair,  and  looking 
to  the  reward  offered  for  compliance,  placed  their  names  to  the  treaty. 
The  Walla  Wallas,  too  weak  for  resistance,  reluctantly  joined  in  the 
transfer  of  their  homes,  and  thirty-six  chiefs  from  among  the  three 
tribes  signed  the  conveyance.  Peu-peu-mox-mox,  chief  of  this  last 
mentioned  tribe,  was  sullen  and  would  not  talk.  He  remembered 
that  his  own  son  had  been  educated  at  the  mission;  had  visited 
California  by  invitation  of  Captain  J.  A.  Sutter;  had  been  as  wan- 
tonly and  maliciously  murdered  while  in  that  gentleman's  fort  as 
liad  been  Dr.  Whitman  among  the  Cayuses;  and  he  no  longer 
courted  their  friendship  or  believed  in  their  promises.  A  special 
clause  was  placed  in  the  treaty  giving  this  chief  })ermission  to  build 
a  trading  post  at,  or  near,  the  mouth  of  the  Yakima  River,  which 
he  could  occupy  for  five  years  and  trade  with  the  whites.  He  was 
to  be  paid  his  first  year's  salary  on  the  day  he  signed  the  treaty,  and 
the  other  chiefs  had  to  wait.  A  h(nise  was  to  be  built  for  his  liv- 
ing son,  around  which  Hve  acres  of  land  were  to  be  plowed  and  en- 
closed, ?'.nd  he  was  to  be  paid  annually  $100  for  twenty  years.  In 
addition  to  all  this,  Peu-peu-mox-mox  was  to  be  given,  within  three 
months,  "three  yoke  of  oxen,  three  yokes  and  four  chains,  one 
wagon,  two  plows,  twelve  hoes,  twelve  axes,  two  shovels,  one  sad- 
dle and  bridle,  one  set  of  wagon  harness,  and  one  set  of  plow  har- 
ness." None  of  the  other  chiefs  received  promise  of  like  privileges 
or  payments,  and  it  is  a  striking  evidence  of  the  necessity  that 
existed  for  obtaining  the  influence  of  this  evident  leader  among  the 
tribes  at  the  council.     The  two  treaties  were  signed  on  the  ninth  of 


382 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


June,  1855,  at  Camp  Stevens  within  the  limits  of  what  now  is 
Walla  Walla  City.  Then  Stevens  and  Palmer  opened  negotiations 
with  th(;  Ne:z  Perces,  who  had  been  present  since  the  gathering  of 
the  tribes  at  this  great  council.  On  the  eleventh  of  that  same 
month  these  old  and  tried  friends  of  the  An'oi-jcans,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  strong  powers  to  influence  the  other  tribes  to  cede  their 
lands  in  the  two  treaties  of  the  ninth,  conveyed  their  immense  do- 
main to  the  Government,  withholding  a  rather  extensive  reserve. 
Their  territory,  about  one-fourth  of  which  was  retained,  included 
over  eighteen  thousand  sipiare  miles;  and  they  were  to  be  paid  for 
it  in  annuities  through  a  term  of  twenty  years,  a  total  of  $'200,000. 
In  addition,  the  liead  chief  was  to  be  paid  $500  per  year  for  twenty 
years,  and  the  tribe  was  to  receive  other  l^enefits  tending  toward 
civilization.  Fifty-eight  chiefs  signed  it,  among  whom  were  Law- 
yer, Looking  (irlass,  and  Joseph.  At  the  close  of  this  coimcil  at 
Walla  Walla  Governor  Stevens  started  for  Colville,  accompanied  by 
a  few  Americans  and  a  body-guard  fi'om  this  tribe.  The  Indians 
in  that  region  refused  to  sell  their  lands.  The  Governor  passed 
over  the  Bitterroot  ]Vrovuitalns  and  concluded  a  treaty  with  the 
Flathead  Nation  on  the  sixteenth  of  July,  by  which  they  ceded 
over  twenty  thousand  scpiare  miles  of  territory  to  the  Government, 
less  a  reservatiim.  The  tribes  constituting  the  Flathead  Nation  in- 
cluded the  Flathead,  Kootenai,  and  Upper  Pend  d'Oreilles.  In 
addition  to  the  $200,000  there  were  to  be  a  $500  salary  paid  to  the 
head  chief  of  each  of  those  tribes  annually  for  twenty  years,  and  the 
other  usual  advances  to  the  nation  for  educational  and  agricultural 
purposes.  Over  this  nation  the  Catholic  missionaries  had  an  almost 
unlimited  control,  and,  had  they  opposed  it,  no  treaty  could  have 
been  efPected.  From  among  the  Flatheads,  Governor  Stevens  passed 
Vjeyond  the  Eocky  Mountains  to  treat  with  the  Blackfeet. 

When  the  treaties  had  been  signed  at  the.  Walla  Walla  council 
and  Governor  Stevens  had  started  north,  Joel  Palmer  returned  to 
The  Dalles,  where  he  induced  the  Wascoes,  Des  Chutes,  and  John 
Day  Rivers  to  cede  their  lands  to  the  Government,  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  June,  for  $150,000.  Payment  was  to  be  divided  into  annu- 
ities that  would  reach  that  amount  in  twenty  years,  with  salaries  to 
chiefs  and  advances  for  improvements  similar  to  those  contained  in 
the  other  treaties.     The  land  ceded  by  these  tribes,  from  M^hich 


THJE  GREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY-FIVE. 


383 


should  be  deducted  their  reservation  at  the  eastern  base  of  Mount 
Jefferson,  included  over  sixteen  thousand  square  miles. 

Each  of  these  treaties  contained  the  following  clause:  "This 
treaty  shall  be  obligatory  upon  the  contracting  parties  as  soon  as 
the  same  shall  be  ratified  by  the  President  and  Senate  of  the  United 
States."  It  is  thus  seen  that  neither  the  Avhites  nor  Indianu  were 
bound  by  the  provisions  of  the  treaties  until  they  had  been  so  rati- 
fied, and  tiie  usual  dilatoriness  of  Congress  postponed  that  event 
until  the  eighth  of  March,  1859,  Nevertheless  Governor  Stevens 
and  Superintendent  Palmer  caused  to  l>e  immediately  pul'iished  in 
the  Oregon  papers  an  official  announcement  that  tliey  had  "con- 
cluded treaties,"  by  means  of  which  they  liad  extinguished  the 
Indian  title  to  all  the  country  except  the  reserves,  whose  bounda- 
ries they  gave,  and  notifying  the  people  that  the  actual  settlements 
and  improvements  of  the  Indians  must  not  be  molested  until  such 
time  as  they  were  officially  removed  to  the  reservations,  whicli,  of 
(jourse,  though  they  did  not  so  state,  could  not  be  done  untii  the 
treaties  were  made  binding  upon  the  contracting  parties  by  formal 
ratification.  Mr.  Palmer  expressly  stated  in  a  notice  dated  July 
10,  1855,  that  all  the  country  east  of  the  summit  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  and  from  latitude  44"  north  to  Kettle  Falls,  excepting 
the  reservations,  was  "  open  to  settlement."  Such  was  not  the  case; 
and  for  thus  giving  the  people  an  incorrect  idea  of  what  had  been 
accomplished,  Governor  Stevens  and  Superintendent  Palmer  are 
justly  chargeable  with  a  large  share  of  responsibility  for  the  hostil- 
ities which  followed.  The  Indians  did  not  so  understand  it,  and 
their  views  were  correct.  The  effort  which  had  been  made  to  ac- 
quire their  lands  in  this  wholesale  manner  had  caused  universal 
dissatisfaction  among  them,  and  deepened  their  ill-will  toward  the 
Americans.  The  chiefs  had  signed  the  treaties  reluctantly,  and  their 
conduct,  though  acquiesced  in,  was  not  approved  by  their  followers. 
In  such  a  frame  of  mind  they  would  not  submit  to  any  infringement 
of  their  rights  under  those  documents,  and,  until  their  terms  had 
been  compb-  ^  "  ''.i,  did  not  propose  to  permit  any  settlements  to  be 
made  on  me  ceded  lands.  They  even  determined  to  exclude  the 
Americans  from  the  privilege  previously  enjoyed  of  passing  through 
the  country.  Ihe  people  were  thus  led  by  this  injudicious  con- 
duct of  pompous  officials,  to  claim  rights  they  did  not  possess  and 
which  the  Indians  would  not  admit,  and  trouble  naturally  followed. 


384 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Only  a  few  days  subsequent  to  the  signing  of  the  treaties  at 
Walla  Walla,  an  event  occiiiTed  which  placed  the  relations  between 
the  whites  and  Indians  in  a  still  more  precarious  and  strained  con- 
dition. This  was  the  reported  discovery  of  gold  at  the  junction  of 
the  Columbia  and  Pend  d'OreiPe  rivers,  thirty  miles  from  Fort 
Colville,  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  discoverers 
were  fonr  P'rench  Canadians  who  had  gone  on  a  prospecting  trip  to 
that  region  from  French  Prairie  the  preceding  March,  induced  so  to 
do  by  one  of  their  number,  a  half-breed  named  Wau-ka,  who  had 
found  color  on  the  river.  Small  parties  began  leaving  for  the 
mines,  and  as  reports  of  the  richness  and  extent  of  the  diggings  be- 
came circulated,  the  number  of  these' adventurers  increased.  Wells, 
Fargo  &  Co.  sent  an  agent  to  examine  them,  and  his  report  was  to 
the  etfect  that  the  mining  ground  was  very  extensive,  but  the  gold 
so  fine  that  it  could  not  be  panned  or  cradled  to  advantage;  sluices 
and  quicksilver  would  be  required;  also  that  the  water  in  the  river 
was  too  high  for  successful  mining  at  that  season  Exaggerated  re- 
ports, however,  continued  ti  find  their  way  into  piint,  and,  in  a  few 
weeks,  travel  to  the  Colville  Mines  became  quite  extensive.  Parties 
from  the  Willamette  Valley  went  by  way  of  The  Dalles  and  Sinicoe 
Valley  at  first,  and  later  through  Walla  Walla  and  the  Palouse 
Country;  while  those  from  the  Sound  crossed  the  mountains  by  the 
Natchess  Pass,  and  headed  direct  for  the  mines.  In  the  frame  of 
mind  in  which  ihe  Indians  tlieu  were,  this  was  more  than  they 
could  stand.  The  treaties  had  not  been  ratified  and  were  not  yet 
in  force;  every  inch  of  the  country  belonged  to  the  native  pi'oprie- 
tors  as  completely  as  before  the  signing  of  the  compact.  Not  a 
plow  nor  a  hoe,  not  a  cow  nor  a  dollar  of  money,  had  they  received ; 
and  yet  the  whites  were  streaming  through  their  country  and  talk- 
ing and  acting  as  though  the  Indians  had  no  rights  in  the  matter 
whatever.  General  Wocl  charged  these  men  as  interfering'  with 
the  Indian  women,  and  thus  precipitating  hostilities;  but  that 
charge  was  never  sustained,  though  such  conduct  as  that  has  been 
one  of  the  most  fruitful  causes  of  trouble  between  the  two  races. 
It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  account  for  the  war  in  that  manner, 
since  there  was  ample  cause  without.  The  ideas  the  Indians  enter- 
tained on  the  subject  of  white  occupation,  have  been  explained. 
The  Yakima  tribes,  under  the  leadership  of  Kama-i-akun,  now  de- 


THE  GREAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY- FIVE. 


385 


termined  that  no  white  men  should  reside  in,  or  pass  through,  their 
country  until  the  treaties  had  been  ratified  and  the  purchase  price 
of  their  lands  been  paid.  This  determination  they  made  known 
on  several  occasions.  About  the  middle  of  July  a  man  named  Mc- 
Cormick,  who  had  a  claim  on  Klickitat  River  at  a  point  known  as 
"  St.  Charles  City,"  was  driven  from  his  place,  and  spent  a  day  and 
night  in  a  treetop  on  the  bank  of  the  Columbia,  when  the  steamer 
Mary  came  along  and  took  him  aboard.  The  Indians  sent  word 
that  whites  would  not  be  permitted  to  settle  on  their  lands  until 
they  had  been  paid  for.  About  the  same  time  Pierre  Jerome,  chief 
of  the  Indians  of  Kettle  Falls,  refused  to  permit  A.  F.  AVilson,  the 
man  whom  Wells,  Fargo  <fe  Co.  had  sent  to  inspect  the  mines,  to 
go  from  Colville  to  Pend  d'Oreille  River,  saying  that  Americans 
would  not  be  permitted  to  pass  through  or  mine  in  th6  couutiy 
until  the  land  was  paid  for  by  the  Government;  also  that  all  the 
tribes  named  would  hold  a  "big  talk"  in  August  on  the  subject. 
This  great  council  was  never  held,  but  that,  in  some  way,  the 
various  tribes  alouu;  tlie  Columbia  arrived  at  a  mutual  under- 
standing  of  what  they  would  do  in  certain  events,  was  made 
evident  by  their  conduct  a  few  months  later. 

The  people,  as  has  been  shown,  had  not  been  notified  that,  as 
yet,  the  treaties  were  not  in  force,  and  that  they  liad  thereby  ac- 
quired no  rights  they  did  not  previously  enjoy.  On  the  contrary, 
they  looked  upon  the  hostile  position  assumed  by  the  Indians  a** 
utterly  unjustifiable,  and  in  direct  violation  of  rights  conferred  by 
ti'eaty.  This  idea  appears  prominently  in  all  contemporaneous 
writings  and  in  subseipient  discussions  of  the  war  and  its  causes, 
esj)ecially  in  those  evoked  by  the  unfavorable  reports  and  comments 
of  General  Wool.  Looking  at  it  from  this  stand-point,  they  were 
nuich  excited  in  August  when  the  Statesman  published  a  rumor 
that  seventy  men  had  been  killed  in  the  Colville  country,  though 
this  was  promptly  contradicted.  A  few  days  later,  when  the  news 
of  the  murder  of  Mattice  was  received,  they  became  still  more  so, 
and  charged  the  Indians  with  violating  treaty  obligations.  Mr. 
Mattice  was  a  resident  of  Olympia,  and  with  Judge  Yantis  and 
others,  crossed  the  mountains  in  August  on  his  way  to  the  mines. 
When  near  the  Columbia,  Mattice  became  separated  from  his  com- 
panions and  soon  fell  in  with   a  Spokane  Indian,  whi>  traveled 


\\ 


386 


HISTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


with  him.  Not  long  afterwards  four  Isle  de  Pere  Indians  overtook 
them  and  sliot  Mattice,  boasting  to  his  companion  that  they  had 
already  killed  three  Bostons  that  day.  News  of  the  tragedy  was 
taken  to  Colville  by  the  Spokane  and  did  not  reach  the  Willamette 
\alley  until  late  in  September.  Much  apprehension  was  felt  for 
the  safety  of  a  score  of  ttthers  from  Puget  Sound,  who  were  known 
to  be  passing  through  the  hostile  country.  The  agent  of  tlie  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  at  Fort  Colville,  Mr.  McDonald,  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  August,  sent  a  messenger  to  the  mines  notifying  the  Amer- 
icans of  the  death  of  Mattice  and  that  the  Indians  were  combining, 
and  advising  them  to  leave  the  mines  unless  they  w^ere  prepared  to 
defend  themselves  against  large  numbers.  Many  had  previously 
started  upon  their  return,  disgusted  with  the  mines,  and  now  nearly 
all  of  the  remainder  took  McDonald's  advice  and  returned  by  the 
way  of  Walla  Walla,  reporting  the  Indians  along  the  route  as  being 
very  sui-ly  and  threatening  in  their  conduct.  Whitney,  at  McKay's 
place  on  the  Umatilla,  was  warned  by  Stick-as  and  Umhowlish, 
two  Ca>use  chiefs,  that  it  was  unsafe  for  him  to  remain,  and  was 
told  that  they  had  given  Dr.  Whitman  a  similar  warning  before  his 
death.  lie  hastened  with  his  family  to  The  Dalles,  and  the  few 
other  Americans  in  that  region  did  the  same,  or  took  refuge  with 
the  friendly  Nez  Perces.  The  French  and  half-breed  settlers  re- 
mained, being  considered  Hudson's  Bay  Company  men,  and  soiLe  of 
the  later  arrivals  from  Colville,  among  whom  M'ere  McKay  and 
Vic.  Trevitt,  only  passed  saffely  through  by  representing  themselves 
as  employees  of  the  company. 

In  the  absence  of  Grovernor  Stevens,  the  Secretary,  C.  H.  Mason, 
discharged  the  duties  of  executive.  On  the  twenty-second  of  Sep- 
tember he  addressed  a  communication  to  Major  G.  J.  Raines,  com- 
mandant at  Fort  Vancouver,  informing  him  of  the  murder  of  Mr, 
Mattice  and  the  reported  death  of  a  number  of  others,  and  request- 
ing him  to  dispatch  a  military  force  to  tlie  Yakima  country  to 
punish  the  aggressors  and  protect  the  small  parties  of  minei-s  travel  ■ 
ing  through  that  region.  A.  J.  Bolan,  Indian  Agent  for  Washing- 
ton Territoi'y,  a  man  who  had  great  influence  among  the  Yakimas 
and  for  whom  they  entertained  great  respect,  started  for  that  region 
from  The  Dalles  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  first  hostile  acts,  and  as 
no  word  was  received  from  him  for  a  number  of  days  it  was  feared 


THE  OBXAT  OUTBREAK  OF  EIGHTEEN  FIFTY-FIVE. 


387 


he  had  been  killed  by  his  wards.  Governor  Mason  had  hardly 
dispatched  his  letter  before  intelligence  was  received  at  Olympia 
that  two  citizens  of  that  place — Walker  and  Jamison — had  been 
killed  near  the  Natchess  Pass.  He  at  once  made  a  requisition  upon 
Captain  M.  Maloney,  commanding  Fort  Steilacoom,  for  a  detach- 
ment of  regulars  to  proceed  to  the  Yakima  country  and  pnnish  the 
perpetrators  of  these  murders  and  protect  the  straggling  parties 
passing  through.  Lieutenant  W.  A.  Slaughter  was  detailed  for 
this  duty  with  forty  men;  and  departed  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
September  with  forty  days'  rations.  Mason  addressed  a  second 
letter  to  Major  Raines  on  the  twenty-sixth,  infurniing  him  of  the 
new  developments,  and  requesting  him  to  send  a  military  force  to 
co-operate  with  Lieutenant  Slaughter.  To  this  Major  Raines  re- 
plied as  follows:- — 

Governor— Your  letter  by  Mr.  Pearson  I  have  the  honor  to  iicknowledge,  and 
have  ordered  into  the  field  a  company  of  eighty-four  men  from  Fort  Dalles,  O.  T., 
all  mounted,  and  with  provisions  on  pack  mules  for  one  month,  to  proceed  without 
delay  and  sweep  through  the  Yakima  country  to  the  points  you  indicated,  co-oper- 
ating with  the  force  from  Steilacoom ;  also,  to  inciuire  into  the  safety  of  Agent 
Bolan,  who  has  now  been  absent  an  unusual  length  of  time ;  a  respectful  attention  to 
whose  views  are  enjoined— if  alive— for  there  are  grounds  to  fear  otherwise.  I  shall 
approve  of  the  action  of  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Steilacoom  in  the  premises, 
and  only  regret  that  the  forty  men  under  Lieutenant  Slaughter  were  not  a  full 
company.    I  have  also  located  an  officer  and  twenty  men  at  the  Cascades. 

This  expedition  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Major  G.  O. 
Haller,  a  brave  and  expeiienced  officer  who  had  just  returned  from 
a  successful  campaign  in  Southwestern  Idaho  against  the  Snake 
Indians  who  had  murdered  the  Ward  family  the  fall  before.  Pre- 
vious to  his  departure  the  fate  of  Agent  Ri)lan  was  settled.  Nathan 
Oliiey,  Sub-agent  in  Oregon,  had  dispatched  from  The  Dalles  a 
trusty  Indian  to  bring  him  intelligence  of  the  missing  man.  He  re- 
turned with  the  startling  report  that  seventeen  men  had  been  killed 
(never  substantiated),  and  that  Bolan  had  l)een  murdered.  The 
Agent  had  threatened  the  Indians  with  punishment  by  the  troops 
unless  they  refrained  from  molesting  the  whites  who  passed  through 
their  country.  When  he  left  t()  return  he  was  followed  by  several  of 
them,  and  a  son  of  Show-ah-way,  an  influential  chief,  shot  him. 
His  throat  was  then  cut,  and  the  murderers  shot  his  horse  and  burned 
the  two  bodies  together.  About  the  same  time,  Werbaanahan,  a 
Cascaded  chief,  came  into  the  settlement  there  and   reported  that 


38S 


HISTOUY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


five  buiKlred  Yakinms  and  Klickitats  were  within  fifteen  miles  of 
White  Sahnon,  and  at  once  the  military  detachment  located  there 
end»arked  on  the  steamer  Wasco  and  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of 
tljat  ri\('r,  only  to  find  their  presence  there  useless,  and  at  once 
returned. 

On  the  third  of  Octolter,  Major  Mailer's  force,  t-onsisting  of  one 
hundi-ed  and  seven,  rank  and  file,  started  north  from  'J'he  Dalles, 
drairging  with  them  a  mountain  howitzei".  News  of  this  movement, 
of  the  death  of  liolan,  and  tlie  White  Salmon  canard,  reached  Port- 
land at  the  same  time  and  created  much  excitement  throughout  the 
Valle}-.  'J'liis  force  marc-hed  north,  and  on  the  sixth  encountered  a 
strong  body  of  Indians  on  Simcoe  Creek.  By  a  (hishing  charge  the 
savages  were  dislodged  fi-oni  the  brush  along  the  stream,  bnt  the 
fortunes  t>f  battle  soon  turned,  and  tlie  trf>ops  were  forced  to  take 
refuge  on  the  crest  of  a  neighboring  hill,  where  they  were  inmie- 
diately  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  whose  nundter  was  estimated  at 
one  thousand  warriors.  A  courier  succeeded  in  slipping  through 
tlie  envii  oning  savages,  and  after  two  days  of  fatigue  and  danger, 
reached  The  Dalles  with  intelligence  of  the  precarious  position  of 
the  troops.  Lieutenant  Day  at  <'nce  started  to  their  relief  with 
forty-five  men  and  a  liowitzer,  but  soon  met  the  troops  in  full  re- 
ti'eat.  Unal)le  to  maintain  their  position,  they  had  forced  a  passage 
through  the  enemy's  lines  and  fought  their  way  out  of  the  country, 
losing,  in  the  whole  fight,  five  of  their  number  killed  and  seventeen 
wounded. 

On  the  ninth  Major  Raines  nnide  a  recjuisition  upon  Governor 
Mason  for  two  companies  of  volunteers,  and  addressed  a  communi- 
cation to  Governor  Geoi-ge  L.  Curry,  of  Oregon,  containing  the 
following  language ; — 

Aw  cuiiimanding  officer,  J  have  ordered  all  the  United  States  disposable  force  in 
this  district  into  the  field  immediately,  and  shall  take  the  command.  As  this  force 
is  questionable  to  subdue  these  Indians — the  Yakinms,  Klickitats,  and  may  be  some 
other  smaller  bands — I  havj  the  honor  to  call  upon  you  for  four  companies  of  vol- 
unt«ers,  composed,  according  to  our  present  organization,  of  one  captain,  one  first 
lieutenant,  one  second  lieutenant,  four  sergeants,  four  corporals,  two  musicians, 
and  seventy-four  privates.  This  number  of  companies  is  just  enough  for  a  major's 
command,  and  would  authorize  that  officer  also.  We  have  only  arms  enough  at 
this  post  for  two  companies,  so  it  is  advisable  to  have  two  of  the  four  companies 
come  armed  with  rifies,  or  such  arms  as  can  best  be  obtained.  We  have  plenty  of 
ammunition,  however.  As  celerity  is  the  word,  we  want  as  many  of  the  volunteei-s 
as  can  be  immediately  obtained,  to  rendezvous  at  this  post,  and  i)roceed  with  the 
troops  to  Fort  Dalles.    They  can  be  mu3te."ed  here. 


THE  OHKAT  fUTBKKAK  OK  KKillTKKN  FIFTY-FIVK. 


3S1I 


(lovcnior  Mason  at  once  issued  a  proclamation  for  two  com- 
panies, wliicli  were  speti»lily  filled,  (rovernor  C'urry  did  better. 
Instead  of  four  companies  he  called  for  eight — one  each  from  Mult- 
nomah, Clackamas,  Wasliington,  Marion,  Polk,  Yamhill,  Lane  and 
Wasco — and  a  few  days  later  added  a  company  from  Benton  and 
another  from  Frei.'ch  Settlement,  in  Marion  County  ;  the  last  l^eing 
designed  for  seout  and  guide  duty.  Just  why  this  was  done  is  not 
perfectly  clear,  hut  it  was  charged  at  the  time  that  he  proposed  to 
render  the  regulars  auxiliary  to  the  militia  instead  of  the  reverse, 
and  therefore  desired  companies  enough  to  require  a  colonel,  who 
would  outrank  Major  Raines.  It  was  also  charged  that  speculaticm 
was  an  impoi'tant  factor  here  as  well  as  in  Southern  Oregon,  and 
that  ever  since  the  gloi-ious  trip  of  the  year  before  "  to  tight  the 
emigrants,"  the  powers  thiit  were,  and  tlieir  friends,  'looked  upon 
an  Indian  war  as  a  l)onaii/a  of  considerable  proportions.  This  may 
be  doing  the  memoi'y  of  the  executive  and  his  advisers  an  injustice, 
but  certain  it  is,  even  if  that  element  was  not  then  present,  it  cropped 
out  later,  and  with  sufficient  pr<miinence  to  give  color  to  the  suspi- 
cion of  its  existence  from  the  very  beginning. 

It  is  proper  here  to  give  another  version  of  the  cause  of  hostili- 
ties and  the  reason  for  this  rather  wholesale  calling  to  arms  by 
(Tovernor  C-urry.  (reneral  Wool,  in  a  lett<'r  to  the  National  Intel- 
ligencer^ under  date  of  April  12,  IMiiG,  detailed  the  situation  in 
Oregon  from  his  stand -point.  This  is  one  of  the  letters  which 
drew  down  upon  his  devoted  head  such  a  storm  of  indignation, 
which  will  be  more  fully  referred  to  in  its  proper  place.  In  it  hj 
says: — 

It  is  said  that  tlio  Yaivinuis  liaving  become  dissatisfied  with  the  treaty  made 
witii  tlieni  the  surniuer  liefore  l)y  Governor  Stevens,  determined  on  war.  This  was 
hastened,  as  it  would  seem,  by  some  miners  forcibly  varryiug  away  and  ill  treating 
some  Yakima  s(|uaws.  Tlie  Yaltimas,  according  to  their  own  story,  complained  of 
this  wronjj  to  A.  .1.  Holan,  .Siib-lixlian  Agent,  who  was  at  that  time  in  tlie  Indian 
country,  and  demanded  redress.  An  altercation  took  place,  when  the  Indians 
threatened  revenge.  The  agent,  in  turn,  threatened  to  send  against  them  troops  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  the  agent  and  the  Indians 
separated.  The  former,  however,  was  followed  and  overtaken  by  the  Yakimas, 
when  they  demanded  to  know  if  he  intended  to  send  the  troops  of  tlic  United 
States  against  them.  On  answering  them  in  the  affirmative,  as  the  Indians  saj% 
they  killed  him,  and  afterwards,  as  reported,  some  miners  on  their  way  to  tlie  t'ol- 
ville  mines.  *  *  *  fhe  Major,  however,  partaking  somewhat  of  the 
alarm  pervading  the  country,  increased  and  stimulated  by  political  demagogues, 
called  upon  Acting-Governor  Mayon  for  two  companies  of  volunteers,  which  was 


300 


HISTOKV  OF  WII.LAMF.TTK  VALLKT. 


promptly  and  fa voriil)ly  roHimiided  to;  and  upon  Governor  Curry,  of  Oregon,  for 
four  (iompunies,  whicli  he  refused,  Iteeause,  as  he  said,  the  Orenonians  would  no* 
serve  under  United  States  olHcers.  At  the  same  time  he  ealled  into  the  Territorial 
service  two  mounted  re^fiments — one  to  serve  against  the  Indians  of  Waslilngton 
Territory,  and  the  oilier  against  the  Indians  in  Southern  Oregon.  Of  the  former, 
no  part  of  it,  in  any  sense  of  the  term,  was  necessary  to  defend  tlie  inhabitants  of 
Oregon  against  tlie  1  udians  in  Washington  Territory,  east  of  the  Cascade  MountainB, 
from  whom  they  had  no  danger  whatever  to  apprehend.  *  *  *  guch  have 
been  the  results  of  one  of  the  most  unwise,  unnecessary  and  extravagant  expedi- 
tions ever  fitted  out  in  the  United  States,  and  for  no  other  reason  than  to  plunder 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States  and  to  make  political  (capital  for  somebody.  It 
could  not  have  been  projected  for  the  defense  of  the  inhabitants  of  Oregon,  nor  for 
the  protection  of  Oregonians  in  Wasliington  Territory,  for  none  resided  there.  What, 
then,  could  have  been  the  object?  Notliing  luit  a  crusade  against  the  Tiidians,  and  a 
long  war  to  enrich  the  country.  If  such  was  not  the  object.  Governor  (,'nrry.  Instead 
of  sending  his  troops  against  the  Indians  of  Washington  Territory  and  beyond  his 
own  jurisdiction,  would  have  sent  them  all  to  Southern  Oregon,  where  the  war 
raged,  and  no  where  else  in  his  territory.  Tlie  Oregonians  say  that  the  war  is  a 
Godsend  to  the  country.  *  *  ♦  It  is  said  by  intelligent  men  that  the 
expenses  of  Governor  Curry's  army  will  amount,  in  scrij),  to  three  or  four  millions 
of  dollars.  If  Congress  should  foot  the  bill,  some  Governor  of  another  Territory 
will  make  a  bill  of  ten  millions.  I  do  not  know  how  the  ((uestion  will  be  con- 
sidered. One  thing,  liowever,  is  certain,  tliat  it  is  an  example  which,  if  counte- 
nanced by  the  United  States  Government,  may,  when  leati.  expected,  lead  to  no  less 
embarrassing  than  disastrous  results. 

In  the  "River  of  the  West,"  the  author,  who  evidently  was  in- 
spired by  the  communications  and  reports  of  General  Wool,  thus 
speaks  upon  this  subject: — 

But  when  at  last  the  call  to  arms  was  made  in  Oregon,  it  was  an  opportunity 
sought  and  not  an  alternative  forced  upon  them  by  the  politicians  of  that  Territory. 
The  occasion  was  simply  this:  A  party  of  lawless  wretches  from  the  Sound 
Country  passing  over  the  Cascade  Mountains  into  the  Yakima  Valley,  on  their  way 
to  the  Upper  Columbia  mines,  found  some  Yakima  women  digging  roots  in  a  lonely 
place  and  abused  them.  The  women  tied  to  their  village  and  told  their  chiefs  of 
the  outrage,  and  a  party  followed  the  guilty  whites  and  killed  several  of  them  in  a 
light.  Mr.  Bolan,  the  Indian- Sub-Agent  for  Washington,  went  to  the  Yakima  vil- 
age,  and,  instead  of  judging  the  case  impartially,  made  use  of  threats  in  the  name  of 
the  United  States  Government,  saying  that  an  army  should  be  sent  to  punish  them 
for  killing  his  people.  On  hia  return  home,  Mr.  Bolan  was  followed  and  murdered. 
The  murder  of  an  Indian  Agent  was  an  act  which  could  not  be  overlooked.  Very 
properly  the  case  should  have  been  taken  notice  of  in  a  manner  to  convince  the 
Indians  that  murder  must  be  punished.  But,  tempted  by  an  opportunity  for  gain, 
and  encouraged  by  the  somewhat  reasonable  fears  of  the  white  population  of  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon,  Governor  G.  L.  Curry,  of  the  latter,  at  once  proclaimed  war, 
and  issued  a  call  for  volunteera,  witliout  waiting  for  the  sanction  or  assistance  of 
the  General  Government. 

Though  the  camas  incident  may  have  occurred,  it  has  not  been 
established  by  proof;  and  even  if  an  actual  occurrence  it  was  but 
an  incident  and  not  a  sole  cause  of  trouble.     For  this  contracted 


THE  GKKAT  niTHKKAK  OF  EKiHTKEN   FIFTV-FI V  K. 


891 


and  superficial  view,  General  Wool,  who  was  a  stranger  and  un- 
familiar with  the  relations  the  whites  and  Indians  had  previously 
sustained  toward  each  other,  may,  perhaps,  he  considered  excusable. 
He  probably  acted  "  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief."  His 
course  waw  certainly  better  than  the  other  extreme  ad<»pted  by 
(Governor  Curry. 

The  excitement  and  panic  created  in  the  Willamette  \' alley  can 
hardly  l>e  ap[)reciated  at  this  distant  day.  News  of  the  terrible 
straits  to  which  Major  Haller  wa.s  reduced,  and  of  Major  Raines' 
call  for  aid,  was  followed  two  days  later  by  intelligence  of  the  ter- 
rible niassncre  in  the  Rogue  Rivei*  Valley,  already  described.  It 
was  at  once  ass<'rted,  and  generally  believed,  that  all  the  Indians  in 
Oregon  and  Washington  had  combined  to  wage  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion against  the  settlements.  The  Orcgonian  especially  was  a  panicy 
paper,  filling  its  columns  with  all  the  absurd  rumors  which  menda- 
cious schemers  or  timid  idiots  might  invent  or  conceive.  Other 
papers  seconded  the  hot-headed  Dryer  in  his  efforts  to  create  a  \var 
feeling  among  the  people,  with  the  exception  of  the  Statesman;  and 
this  exception  was  caused  by  the  simple  fact  that  Bush,  its  editor, 
always  esjioused  the  negative  of  any  question  upon  which  Dryer 
had  pronounced  in  the  affirmative.  It  was  somewhat  anomalous 
and  parad*)xical  in  this  case,  since  the  Statesman  was  the  apf)stle  of 
Democracy,  and  the  Territorial  (Tovernment  was  completely  in  the 
hands  of  that  party,  which  would,  conseciuently,  control  all  appoint- 
ments and  the  It^tting  of  all  contracts — as  sul>se(iuent  events  2:)roved 
that  it  did.  On  the  contrary  the  Oregonian,  a.-  .iie  organ  of  the 
Whig,  or  American,  party,  could  hope  for  no  benefit  for  itself  or 
friends,  save  such  as  might  come  indirectly,  V)ecause  the  "  war  was 
a  Godsend  to  Oregon.''  By  warmly  advocating  the  war,  and  then  as 
hotly  criticising  its  management  by  the  Democratic  officials  and  con- 
tractors, \\'hile  not  forgetting  at  the  same  time  to  be-stow  unlimited 
praise  u{)on  "  the  brave  men  in  the  field,"  the  Oregonian  made 
itself  extremely  popular.  This  was  an  astute  piece  of  journalism, 
and  it  may  be  said  that  the  Oregonian  here  laid  the  foundation  for 
its  subsequent  greatness  and  prosperity. 

To  enumerate  the  various  rumors  which  flew  about  the  \'alley, 
racking  the  nerves  of  the  timid  and  rousing  the  martial  ardor  of  the 
more  warlike,  would  be  impossible.     The  same  evening  the  start- 


35)2 


HlfHTOKY  OK  WILLAMKTTK  VAl-LKT. 


ling  intelllgent't'  vvjw  hrouglit  into  Portland  thnt  Major  Haller  was 
defeated,  a  rumor  was  spread  tliat  the  ('aseades  was  threatened  and 
thnt  six  hundreil  Indians  were  opposite  St.  Helens.  Hastily  a  meet- 
ing was  called,  excited  and  warlike  speeches  made,  a  committee  of 
safety  appointed  "to  keep  an  eye  on  the  Indians  in  and  aV)out  the 
city,"  and  another  to  enroll  the  names  of  volunteei-s.  Quite  a  com- 
pany was  raised  before  the  canard  was  explode*'.  Throughout  the 
whole  valley  there  was  a  general  prejiaration  for  defense,  extending 
from  the  simple  inspection  of  tire-nrms  to  the  l)uildingof  stockades, 
according  jus  the  panic  took  deep  or  shallow  hold  upon  the  in- 
dividual. The  Metho<lists  of  Tualatin  Plains,  in  Washington  County, 
apparently  more  exposed  to  annihilation  l)y  lightning  than  attack 
by  Indians,  constructed  a  stockade  around  their  church,  and  pre- 
pared for  a  defense  of  their  families  within  the  protecting  wall  of 
pickets.  The  following  extract  from  an  editorial  in  the  Statesman 
of  October  25,  two  weeks  after  the  excitement  began,  throws  much 
light  upon  the  subject: — 

*  *  *  The  idea  that  Indians  are  going  to  attacli  tlie  Willamette  towns 
or  settlements  is  groundless  and  silly  in  the  extreme,  and  it  requires  more  patience 
than  we  possess  to  treat  it  solierly  and  without  ridicule.  *  *  *  Upon  what 
are  all  these  "dread  alarums "  based ?  Upon  silly  rumors,  dreams,  and  crazy  imagina- 
tions of  excited  and  halt-crazy  brains.  And  how  rapidly  have  they  all  been  exploded 
in  their  order  !  First,  The  Dalles  and  Cascades  were  to  be  immediately  attaclced ; 
next,  8t.  Helens ;  then  Major  Haller  was  about  to  be  out  off;  Lieutenant  Slaughter's 
command  was,  without  doubt,  murdered  ;  and  also  Governor  Mason,  who  followed, 
with  Stuart,  Trevitt,  Barnhart  and  McKay,  and  several  others,  too  numerous  to 
mention,  who  had  not  been  heard  of  for  twenty-four  hours  or  so.  They  have  all 
finally  turned  up  unharmed,  except  Haller's  command,  which  sustained  a  loss  of 
five  men.  »  *  «  Upon  the  heels  of  the  above  list  of  rumors  followed 
some  other  members  of  that  innumerable  family  to  the  effect  that  three  or  four 
hundred  Klamaths  were  at  the  head  of  the  Santiam,  armed,  and  threatening  an 
attack  upon  the  neighborhood,  Salem,  Albany,  and  probably  Corvallis.  No  Indians 
could  be  found  there ;  and  then  rumor  located  a  still  larger  and  more  dreadful  band 
on  the  Calapooia,  with  the  intention  of  sweeping  the  country  and  burning  Eugene 
City.  But  nary  Indian  was  found  there,  and  we  heard  nothing  of  madam  j-umor 
for  two  or  three  hours,  when  she  came  in  breathless  and  reported  the  Tillajriook 
Indians  as  being  in  an  awtul  flz,  and  about  to  blow  out  Lafayette  and  Yamhill.  A 
party  started  over  to  Tillamook  to  surprise  the  red  rascals  and  head  off  their  dire  in- 
tentions; in  due  time  they  returned,  without  any  scalps,  and  not  very  nmch  fright- 
ened for  their  lives.  They  probably  conveyed  to  those  Indians  the  first  intelligence 
they  had  of  the  combination  of  all  the  tribes  against  the  whites.  *  ♦  # 
Now,  nothing  remains  of  the  rumors  from  that  quarter  (the  north)  but  the  report  of 
a  combination  of  tribes,  and  a  purpose  of  giving  battle  to  the  whites.  We  have 
noticed  that  in  times  past,  upon  the  occurrence  of  Indian  hostilities,  it  is  at  once  re- 
ported that  there  is  a  combination  of  all  the  tribes  in  the  section  where  the  dis- 
turbance exist« ;  and  we  have  not;.ced,  also,  that  when  it  was  over  and  the  facts 


•niK  (IHKAT  Ol'TBUKAK  (»K   KKJMTKKN   K1KTV-1I\  K. 


;v.»;i 


obtainahh',  that  tlicri!  wnn  no  jjeiicml  coinhination,  ami  do  invcoin'crtod  purpoHC  of 
war.  Thcro  may  lieu  ntnu-ral  comhinatioii  of  trilnH  iiortli  of  ii«.  Wt'  hope  not;  and 
we  have  Heen  no  evidence  that  sucli  is  the  (;aae,  an<l  do  not  lielicve  that  it  Ih. 

The  tro(t])M  under  tlie  cornniand  of  Major  Kiiincs  were  portions 
of  the  4th  Tnfiuitrv.  Ininiedintcly  upon  rcmving  the  Majctr's  re- 
port of  the  condition  of  uffuir.s  on  the  Cohunbia,  as  well  as  intelli- 
genee  of  th(!  Rogue  lliver  conif)lications,  Major  General  Wool,  com- 
inandant  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Paeifie,  with  ]iead(|Uarters 
at  San  Francisco,  forwarded  all  the  troops  iit  his  disi^osal,  together 
with  stores,  annnunition,  etc.  He  also  made  a  re(pusition  upon  the 
(iovernnient  for  reinforcements,  in  response  to  which  the  0th  Infantry 
was  sent  to  the  Coast;  but  owing  to  the  insufficient  means  of  com- 
munication and  ti-avel,  the  regiment  did  not  arrive  until  the  follow- 
ing spring. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  FALL  CAMPAIGNS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Governor  Curry  Calls  for  Two  Battalions  of  Volunteers  —  Siege  of 
Galice  Creek- — Battle  of  Hungry  Hill — -A  Poor  Commissariat,  and 
Jealousy  betweeti  Regulars  and  Volunteers  Cause  Disaster — Organi- 
zation if  the  Two  Battalions — They  Arrange  with  the  Hegtdars  for 
a  Joint  Campaign — The  J^'irst  Meadows  Campaign  —  Invasion  of 
the  Rice  Settlement — 3[assacre  <f  Peaceable  Zhnpiiuas  in  fjooking- 
Glass  Valley — Attack  on  the  Camj>»  of  Jake  and  John- -The  Siege 
on  Applegate  Creek — Fight  on  Murphy  Creek — Close  of  the  Cam- 
paign for  the  Winter. 


THE  narrative  now  turns  back  to  the  Rogue  River  Valley,  whose 
stirring  events  will  he  considered  while  Major  Raines  and 
Governor  Curry's  troops  are  preparing  for  their  expedition  against 
the  Yakimas.  Upon  tlie  news  being  r(>ceived  at  Corvallis,  the  tem- 
porary seat  of  Government,  tliat  the  flame  of  war  had  burst  out 
afresh  in  Southern  Oregon,  Governor  Curry,  immediately  after  his 
proclamation  for  troops  to  fight  the  Northern  Indians,  issued  a 
second  call  for  volunteers  to  (piell  the  uprising  in  the  South.  He 
called  for  two  battalions,  to  be  designated  as  the  "  Northern  Bat- 
talion "  and  "Southern  Battalion."  The  former  was  to  consist  of 
five  companies,  two  from  Lane  County,  and  one  each  from  Douglas, 
Linn  and  Umjiqini,  and  was  to  rendezvous  at  Rosel)urg  and  elect 
a  Major  to  command  it.  The  latter  was  to  consist  of  four  compa- 
nies, all  from  Jackson  County,  to  assemble  at  JiU'ksonville,  and  also 
choose  a  Major  as  commander. 

While  the  work  of  organizing  the  forces  was  going  on,  the  Indian 
maraude'  i  retired  to  the  neiijhborhood  of  Grave  Creek,  Cow  Creek 
and  Galice  Creek,  on  each  of  which  were  important  settleiuents. 
On  the  morning  of  the  seventeenth  of  October  the  r.nited  bands  of 


THE  FALL  CAMPAI(iNS  IN  THK  SOUTH. 


395 


Limpy,  George,  John  and  Tenas  Tyee  made  an  attack  on  the  head- 
quarters of  the  volunteers  on  Galice  Creek,  and  the  fight  ensued 
which  has  been  celel)rated  as  the  "  Siege  of  Galice  ('reek.''  Cap- 
tain AVilliani  B.  Lewis,  in  command  of  a  company  of  about  thirty- 
five  men,  was  stationed  at  the  creek.  (Jn  the  day  mentioned  Ser- 
geant Adams  was  fired  upon  by  liostiles,  who  appeared  in  strong 
force  on  the  hill  overlooking  the  houses  used  as  headf[uai*ters. 
Several  volimteers  who  were  standing  near  were  also  fired  upon, 
and  Private  J.  W.  Pickett  was  mortally  wounded  by  a  shot  through 
the  body,  and  died  during  the  day.  The  heathpiarters  consisted  of 
two  board  houses,  situated  some  twenty  yards  apart,  and  about  an 
ecpuil  distance  fi'om  the  stream.  Some  four  or  five  men  took  a 
position  in  a  ditch  which  had  been  cut  for  defensive  purposes;  others 
took  shelter  within  a  log  coi'ral  adjoining  one  of  the  houses,  while 
within  the  latter  the  remainder  were  installed.  The  enemy  were 
hidden  })ehind  natural  o})structioi)s  in  all  directions  from  the  de- 
fenses. Very  soon  the  men  were  diiven  from  the  ditch,  and  took 
refuge  in  the  tiouses.  While  retreating  toward  the  house.  Private 
Israel  D.  Adams  was  shot  and  fell,  mortally  injured,  near  the  house, 
being  assisted  into  it  by  Private  Allen  Evans,  who,  while  thus  en- 
gaged, received  a  severe  wound  in  the  jaw.  The  Indians  imme- 
diately occupied  the  ditch  to  the  number  of  tvventy  or  more,  and 
kf'pt  up  a  fire  on  the  houses,  within  which  the  volunteei-s  were  erect- 
ing defences  by  digging  up  floors,  piling  up  blankets,  etc.  Umpqua 
Joe,  a  fri(Viidly  Indian  who  was  taking  j>art  with  the  whites,  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  wounded;  and  a  bullet  penetrated  the  thin  walls 
of  the  house  and  struck  Private  Samuel  Sanders  in  the  head,  killing 
him  instantly.  Several  attempts  were  made  by  the  enemy  to  set  fire 
to  the  houses,  and  Chief  Gcorcje  particularlv  distinuniished  himself 
by  attempting  to  throw  )»urning  faggots  uj)on  the  rot)fs.  The  en- 
gagement lasted  nearly  all  day,  the  Indians  at  ni<.';Iiitall  retiring  from 
the  scene.  When  they  had  disappeared,  the  volunteers  went  to  work 
to  strengthen  their  defences  by  extending  their  ditch,  at  which  they 
occupied  themselves  nearly  all  night.  In  the  morning  some  Indians 
appeared,  and  seeing  from  the  preparations  that  the  whites  were 
ready  to  receive  them,  fired  their  guns,  i*etreated,  and  were  not 
again  seen  on  Galice  Creek.  Besides  those  mentioned,  Benjamin 
Tufts,  severely  wounded,  died  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  November 


3<.)<) 


lirsToUY  OF  WILIiAMKTTK  VALI.KY, 


following.  Captain  Lt'wiri,  First  Lientt»nant  W.  A.  Moore,  and 
Privates  John  P^rixson,  Lonis  Dunois,  and  Milton  Blaeklidge  were 
wounded.  How  great  the  Indian  loss  was  could  not  be  determined, 
but  common  opinion  was  that  it  was  about  etjual  to  that  of  the 
whites. 

A  ieAV  days  subse(]uently,  and  while  the  whereabouts  of  the 
Indians  was  unknown,  an  opportune  circumstance  revealed  their 
place  of  a))ode.  Lieutenant  (since  General)  A.  Y.  Kaiitz,  o^^  the 
regular  army,  set  out  from  Port  Orford  with  a  guard  of  ten  soldiers 
to  explore  the  country  lying  between  that  place  and  Fort  Lane. 
Leaving  the  river  near  the  mouth  of  Grave  Creek,  he  ascended  the 
neighboring  hills  and,  nuich  to  his  surprise,  came  upon  a  very 
large  band  of  Indians.  xVs  they  proved  hostile,  there  was  no  re- 
source but  to  run  for  it,  and  losing  one  man  by  the  savages'  fin^, 
the  men  escaped  to  Fort  Lane.  Having  now  been  made  aware  of 
the  Indians'  exact  whereabouts,  Colonel  Ross  and  Captain  Smith, 
combining  forces  as  well  as  the  mutual  jeah^usies  of  j'egulars  and 
volunteers  would  permit,  began  to  plan  an  active  campaign.  All 
the  dL'posable  troops  at  Fort  Lane  consisted  of  eighty-five  men  and 
four  oftx^'ers.  These  set  out  on  the  twenty -sev  ith  of  October,  and 
on  arriving  at  the  Grave  Creek  House  were  joined  l)y  Colonel  Ross' 
command,  of  about  two  hundred  and  ninety  men,  besides  a  portion 
of  Major  Martin's  force  from  Deer  Creek.  From  this  point  the 
combined  forces  moved,  on  October  thirtieth,  to  the  Indian  camp, 
arriving  at  daybreak  at  a  point  where  Captains  Harris  and  Bruce 
were  deployed  to  the  left,  while  Captain  Smith,  with  the  regulars, 
took  the  ridge  to  the  right,  with  the  expectation  of  ai-riving  in  the 
rear  of  the  position.  Captains  Williams  and  Rinearson  followed  in 
Captain  Smith's  tracks.  The  country  not  being  perfectly  known 
by  the  whites,  several  mistakes  followed  in  consequence,  and  Harris 
and  Bruce  came  directly  upon  the  Indian  encampment,  and  were  in 
full  \'iew  of  the  savages,  before  any  strategic  movement  could  be 
made,  and  no  opportunity  for  surprising  the  enemy  offered  itself. 
The  time  was  sunrise,  and  Captain  Smith  had  gained  his  rear  posi- 
tion and  had  built  fires  for  his  men's  refreshment,  at  the  place  where 
Lieutenant  Kautz  had  been  attacked.  By  these  fii'es  the  Indians 
were  warned  of  the  party  in  their  rear,  and  prepared  themselves 
accordingly.     The  regulars  descended  into  a  deep  goige,  climbed 


^ 


THE  FALL  CAMPAIGNS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


397 


up  the  other  side  and  directly  ^vere  engaged  with  the  Indians,  vvlii* 
advanced  to  meet  them.  From  the  crest  of  the  hill  for  a  mile  or 
more  in  tlie  rear  of  the  Indians,  was  a  dense  tliicket;  on  the  right 
and  left  were  precipitous  descents  into  a  goi  ge  illled  with  pines  and 
undergrowth,  in  which  the  nati\es  concealed  themselves  almost  per- 
fectly from  the  view  of  the  \vliites,  who  possessed  no  resources  suffi- 
cient to  dislodge  them.  The  I'idge  being  hare  on  to[),  the  men  were 
necessarily  exposed,  and  sonu^  casualti(<s  resulted.  Movements  were 
made  tt)  get  in  the  rear  of  this  new  position,  hut  sm-h  attempts  were 
futile.  Several  charges  were  made  by  the  I'egulars,  but  ineffectually, 
althougli  the  men  were  for  considerable  periods  within  V'l:  or  twenty 
yards  of  the  hostiles.  The  latter  fought  ])ravely  and  stea  lily,  pick- 
ing off  the  whites  b}'  a  regular  fire  from  their  rifles,  which  were 
pitted  against  the  inferior  weapons  of  the  troops,  or  at  least  of  the 
regulars,  two-thirds  of  whom  had  only  the  "  musketoon,"  a  short, 
smooth-bore  weapon,  discharging  inaccurately  a  heavy  round  bullet, 
whose  range  was  necessarily  slight.  About  sunset  the  comnuinders 
concluded  to  retire  from  tiie  tiehl,  and  encamped  for  the  night  at 
Bloody  Spring,  as  it  was  then  named,  some  distance  down  the  hill. 
On  the  following  morning  Lieutenant  (xibson,  of  the  regulars, 
with  ten  men,  proceeded  up  the  hill  to  the  battlefield,  to  secure  the 
dead  body  of  a  private  of  his  detachment,  and  when  returning  with 
it  was  pursued  l)y  the  savages,  \vho  came  down  and  attacked  the 
camp  in  force.  No  damage  was  done  exce].)t  the  Avounding  of  Lieu- 
tenant Gibson,  and  after  a  time  the  savages  were  driven  off.  No 
further  attempt  against  the  Indians  was  made,  and  after  advising 
with  their  officers,  the  two  connnanders  decided  to  remove  their 
troops  from  the  vicinity.  The  total  loss  was  thirty-one,  of  whom 
nine  were  killed,  and  twenty-two  wounded.  Several  of  the  latter 
died  of  their  injuries.  The  volunteers  killed  Avere  Privates  Jacob 
W.  Miller,  James  Peai'cy  and  Henry  Pearl,  of  Rinearsoi''s  company; 
John  AVinters,  of  AVilliams';  and  Jonathan  A.  Pedigo,  of  Harris'. 
The  wounded  were  Privates  William  II.  Ci'ouch,  Enoch  Miller  and 
Ephraim  Tager,  of  Rinearson's;  Thomas  Ryan  and  AVillian;  Stamms, 
of  Williams';  L.  F.  Allen,  John  (Tolds])y,'ThonuiH  Gill,  C.  B.  Hin- 
ton,  William  M.  Hand,  William  I.  Mayfiehl,  William  Purnell  and 
AVilliam  White,  of  Mairis';  (■.  ('.  Goodwin,  of  Hruce's;  and  John 
Ki'imedy,  of  Welton's.     The  latter  died  on  the  sev<'nth  of  N<»vem- 


398 


HISTORY  OK  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


her,  and  C.  B.  Hinton,  in  endeav^oring  to  make  his  way  alone  to 
tlie  Grave  Ci-eek  House,  lost  his  road  and  perished  from  exposure. 
This  fiifiit  is  known  by  the  several  names  of  the  "Battle  of  Bloody 
Springs,"  "Battle  of  Hungry  Hill,"  and  "  Battle  in  the  Grave  Creek 
Hills,"  and  was  prac-tically  a  defeat. 

Inclemency  of  the  weather  and  inadetpiate  clothing  and  accoutre- 
ments are  ascribed  as  reasons  for  the  failure  of  this  campaign;  but 
moi'e  especially  an  utter  failure  of  the  ccjinmissariat.  The  commis- 
sary and  ([uartermastei"  departments  were  at  fault,  nor  do  they  ap- 
pear to  have  l)een  efficiently  aihninistered  at  any  time  (hiring  the 
war,  although  their  expenses  (duly  charged  to  the  United  States) 
were  pre])osterously  great.  P^igures  are  at  hand  to  show  that  the 
expense  of  tlie  latter  department  exceeded,  for  a  time,  eight  hundred 
dollars  ])ei'  day  I  And  this  for  transportation  alone.  A  large 
number  of  Mexicans  were  borne  on  the  rolls  as  packers,  whose 
daily  pay  was  six  dollars,  and  who  had  the  care  and  management 
of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pack  animals,  \v'hich  were  used  in 
carrying  supplies  from  Jacksonville  or  Crescent  City  to  the  seat  of 
war.  Tliey  belonged  to  the  volunteer  service,  and  were  entirely 
distinct  from  the  trains  by  whicli  the  regulars  at  Fort  Lane  were 
supplied.  It  was  to  this  mismanagement  the  failure  of  the  cam- 
paign was  attributed,  and  apparently  with  considerable  justice.  As 
was  customary  at  that  date,  a  great  deal  of  blame  Avas  cast  upon 
the  volunteers  for  their  alleged  failure  to  properly  second  the  efforts 
of  the  Government  troops.  This  t;hai"ge  is  i'(;torted  Uj)on  Captain 
Smith's  soldiers  by  counter-cliarges  of  similar  tenor;  and  as  neither 
side  in  the  controversy  is  supported  by  any  but  interested  evidence, 
we  can  not,  at  this  date,  satisfactorily  discuss  the  (piestion.  The 
matter,  however,  is  connected  with  the  in\ariable  tendency  to  an- 
tagonism, which  shows  itself  on  evei'y  similar  occasion. 

These  preliminary  engagements  were  followed  by  a  complete 
organization  of  the  hastily  collected  companies  as  designate*!  in  the 
proclamation  of  Governor  Curry.  John  K.  Lamerick  was  aj)])ointed 
Acting  Adjutant  General  for  the  Southern  ]iattali(.)n,  and  reached 
Jacksonville  a  few  days  subsequent  to  the  battle  of  Hungry  Hill. 
About  a  dozen  companies,  of  from  twenty  to  eighty  men  eacli,  ap- 
plied to  be  mustered.  Of  these  four— Bruce,  Williams,  Wilkin- 
son, and  Alct>ru's — were  mustered  at  Vannoy's  Ferry  on  the  tenth  of 


THE   FALL  CAMPArONS  IN'  THK  SOUTH. 


399 


November,  the  others  being  disbaudeil.  Tlie  Itattaliou  elected 
James  Bruce  Major,  liis  oidy  competitor  l)eiiig  Captain  11.  L. 
Williams.  The  Northern  Battalion  perfected  its  organization  some- 
what earlier  at  Roseburg,  electing  William  J.  Martin  Major  on  the 
twentieth  of  Oct<.)ber.  M.  M.  McCarver,  Aviio  had  been  appointed 
Quartermaster  General,  established  his  headtpnii'ters  at  li()sel)urg. 
Major  Martin's  force  consisted  of  live  companies  of  one  hundred 
and  ten  meu  each,  considerably  in  excess  of  the  number  assigned  in 
the  prodanmtion.  The  company  from  Douglas  County  was  com- 
manded by  Sajuuel  Gordon;  Jonathan  Keeney  was  in  command  of 
the  one  from  Linn,  W.  W.  Cliapman  WJis  Ca})tain  of  the  Umpcpia 
company,  and  Joseph  Bailey  and  — —  Buoy  of  tlie  two  from  Lane. 
Major  Martin  estaldished  headcpiarters  at  Camp  Leland,  seven  miles 
north  of  Grave  Creek,  and  stationed  detachments  of  his  men  at  suit- 
able jxiints  for  the  general  protection  of  the  whole  region  north  of 
Rogue  River — in  Cow  Creek  Valley,  Camas  Valley,  the  Canyon, 
North  Unip(^ua,  and  at  Scottsburg.  Detachments  of  the  Southern 
Battalion  were  stationed  at  Evans'  Ferry,  Bowden's,  on  Grave 
Creek,  and  other  points. 

This  disposition  of  the  troops  effectually  prevented  the  Indians 
from  reacliing  the  more  important  settlements,  and  the  savages,  find- 
ing all  avenues  closed  to  the  eastward,  left  Bloody  Sj)rings  and 
pa.ssed  down  Rogue  River,  taking  refuge  in  a  region  almost  inac- 
cessible l)ecaiise  of  its  steep  mountains,  deep  gorges  and  dense 
underbrush.  The  two  1  >attalions  were  mutually  independent,  though 
expected  t(»  co-operate.  Their  commandei's  arranged  with  Captain 
Smith  for  a  joint  campaign  againt  the  Indians,  whose  location  on 
Rogue  River  had  been  discovered.  Major  Fitzgerald  and  his  com- 
pany of  dragoons  had  been  ordered  to  report  for  duty  at  Vancou- 
ver, much  reducing  the  force  of  regulars  at  Fort  Lane.  Captain 
Judah,  who  was  stationed  at  Fort  Jones,  was  sent,  by  Captain 
Smith,  to  accompany  the  volunteers  with  all  the  troops  which  could 
be  spared  from  those  two  posts.  Here  was  the  most  unmilitary 
spectacle  of  three  separate  and  distinct  commands  starting  out  upon 
a  campaign,  with  no  conunauder-in-chief  and  no  definitely  outlined 
plan  of  operations. 

The  line  of  march  was  taken  up  by  Major  Martin,  Major  Bruce, 
ami  Captain  Judah  t>u  the  twentieth  of  November,  the  latter  taking 


400 


IITSTORT  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


with  him,  with  infinite  difficulty,  a  clumsy  mountain  howitzer.  A 
day  or  two  later  they  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  Whiskey  Creek, 
and  found  traces  of  Indians.  Proceediusr  down  the  river  the  next 
morning,  keeping  along  tlie  high  lands  back  a  mile  or  two  from  the 
stream,  they  found  the  Indians  in  strong  force  in  the  woods  border- 
ing the  river.  It  was  deemed  proper  to  ci'oss  to  the  south  side  of 
the  stream,  and  for  this  purpose  Major  Bruce  proceeded  with  his 
))attaliou  down  the  river,  being  then  near  the  mouth  of  Jackass 
Creek,  and  attempted  to  cross.  There  was  no  discipline  whatever. 
The  commands  were  but  newly  organized,  and  each  pi'ivate  con- 
sidered his  judgment  as  good  as  that  of  his  officers.  The  men  were 
scattered  out  over  the  bar,  some  engaged  in  constructing  rafts  and 
others  in  prospecting  foi"  gold.  No  effort  was  made  to  k(^ep  them 
in  order  by  their  officers,  though  they  were  almost  in  the  presence 
of  the  enemy.  The  consequence  was  that  when  the  Indians  began 
firing  upon  tiiem  from  out  of  the  dense  thicket  on  the  opposite 
bank,  the  men  made  a  wild  rush  for  shelter  in  the  forest  al)ove  the 
bar.  Although  some  of  the  officers  made  a  vain  effort  to  halt  them 
and  form  a  line,  they  preferred  to  take  the  advice  of  a  fleeing  Lieu- 
tenant and  "  break  for  the  brush."  While  this  was  being  done  the 
commands  of  Martin  and  Judah  lay  upon  the  hill  above  and  several 
miles  distant,  while  the  latter  trained  his  piece  in  the  direction  of  the 
enemy  and  awoke  the  echoes  with  its  harmless  bang.  After  con- 
tinuing this  amusement  for  some  time  the  martial  toy  was  strapped 
upon  the  back  of  a  lusty  mule,  and  the  three  conunands  marched 
back  to  their  camps  at  Vannoy's  Ferry,  Foi't  Lane  and  Camp  Le- 
land.  Thus  ended  the  First  Meadows  Campaign.  AVilliam  Lewis,  of 
Kenney's  comi)any,  was  killed,  five  other  volunteers  were  wounded, 
and  one  Indian  scalp  was  taken  home  l)y  the  retiring  troops. 

The  various  companies  were  now  detailed  for  guard  duty  at  the 
more  exposed  places,  and  no  regular  campaign  was  again  under- 
taken until  spring.  Though  comparatively  inactive,  thciy  served  as 
a  bulwark  of  safety  to  the  settlements  along  Rogue  liiver  antl  the 
Umpqua.  There  were,  however,  a  few  war- like  incidents  l)efore 
the  close  of  the  year,  which  served  to  show  that  the  Indians  were 
still  hostile,  and  that  the  spirit  of  promiscuous  extermin.ition  had 
not  forsaken  the  whites.  The  flrst  of  tiiese  was  the  descent  of  some 
twenty  or  thirty  Indians  upon  the  Rice  Settlement,  at  the  mouth  of 


THE  FALL  CAMPAIGNS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


401 


Looking  Glass  Creek,  eight  miles  south  of  Roseburg.  The  hostiles 
burned  Rice's  house,  captured  some  fire-arras,  and  did  other  damage. 
A  small  company  of  men,  commanded  by  J.  P.  Day,  went  from 
Deer  Creek  to  the  scene  and  engaged  and  defeated  the  Indians  on 
the  second  of  December,  killing  three.  The  stolen  guns,  horses, 
etc.,  were  re-captured.  Castleman,  a  member  of  the  company,  was 
slightly  wounded.  The  Indians  were  probably  Cow  Creeks  who 
had  not  formally  joined  the  forces  of  Limpy  and  George  on  the 
banks  of  Rogue  River.  Some  few  of  the  peaceable  Umpquas 
resided  in  and  around  the  pleasant  vale  of  Looking  Glass.  When 
war  broke  out  on  Rogue  River,  these  inofEensive  peo})le  were  gath- 
ered in  Looking  Glass  Valley,  occupying  a  rancheria  on  the  creek, 
where  they  lived  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  and  ignorant  and 
careless  of  everything  outside  of  their  own  little  sphere.  In  an  evil 
hour  certain  white  people  of  that  vicinity,  who  imagined  that  they 
were  dangerous  neighbors,  organized  themselves  into  a  company, 
and  fell  suddenly  upon  the  helpless  little  community,  and  scattered 
them  to  the  four  winds.  Several  men  and  an  old  squaw  w  ere 
killed. 

The  people  on  Butte  Creek,  in  Jackson  County,  had,  with  the 
first  alarm  of  war,  sought  safety  in  a  camp  of  log  houses  on  Felix 
O'Neal's  donation  claim.  Alcorn's  company  was  recruited  among 
the  hardy  settlers  thereabouts,  and  subsequent  to  their  return  from 
the  First  Meadows  Campaign,  were  posted  in  part  at  this  fortified 
camp.  Jake,  a  well-known  chief  of  a  small  band  of  Indians,  with 
his  braves,  had  long  inhabited  that  portion  of  the  country  and  had 
refused  to  go  on  the  reservation.  On  the  night  of  December  twen- 
ty-fourth Captain  Alcorn  marched  to  their  rancheria  and  camped 
within  a  mile  of  it,  in  the  cold  and  snow.  At  daybreak  the  next 
morning  the  troops  moved  within  rifle  range,  and  began  to  shoot. 
This  they  kept  up  until  the  natives  were  killed  or  dispersed,  their 
loss  being  eight  "  bucks  "  killed,  and  the  remainder  wounded.  One 
squaw  was  wounded  in  the  jaw,  and  two  men  were  captured.  A 
similar  affair,  similarly  managed,  occurred  at  the  same  date  between 
a  detachment  of  Captain  Rice's  company  and  the  Indians  of  a  ranch- 
eria four  miles  north  of  Rogue  River,  and  just  below  the  mouth  of 
Big  Butte  Creek.  The  Indians  were  taken  by  surprise,  and  after 
several  hours'  fighting,  eighteen  males  were  killed,  twenty  squaws 


402 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


and  children  captured  and  the  rancheria  burned.  On  the  same  day 
twenty  men  of  Bushey's  company  set  out  on  a  j*cuuting  tour  to  the 
neigh})orhood  of  Williams'  Creek,  where  a  [)()rtk)u  of  Old  John's 
band  were  busying  themselves  in  many  a  hostile  ^vay,  niucli  raised 
in  self-esteem  by  the  partial  success  of  their  bold  leader  since  the 
war  began.  On  the  fourth  day  a  detachment  of  seven  men  came 
upon  the  camp,  and  immediately  attacked  it,  killing  three  braves 
and  putting  the  others  to  flight. 

Toward  the  last  of  December  some  scouts,  near  the  forks  of  the 
Applegate,  discovered  that  a  body  of  Indians  had  taken  [)ossession 
of  two  deserted  miners'  cabins,  and  had  gone  into  winter  ( quarters 
there,  preparing  themselves  for  a  state  of  siege  by  excavating  the 
floors  and  piling  the  dirt  against  the  walls.  A  l)ody  of  sixty  or 
more  from  Sterling  went  immediately  to  watch  the  cabins  and 
prevent  the  Indians  from  escaping,  while  wonl  was  sent  to  various 
military  companies.  Captain  Bushey  arrived,  and  finding  the 
position  too  strong  for  his  small  force,  awaited  the  arrival  of 
others.  Capt.  Smith  sent  Lieutenants  Hagen  and  Underwood  with 
twenty -five  regulars  and  the  inevitable  howitzer;  but  the  mule  . 
carrying  the  ammunition  was  so  heedless  as  to  fall  into  a  dee^p 
creek  and  be  killed,  while  the  powder  wus  ruined.  More  ammu- 
nition was  sent  for,  and  Lieutenant  Switzer,  with  sixteen  regulars, 
brought  it  on  a  mule.  The  regulars  then  Hrtd  a  shell,  which 
passed  into  or  through  a  cabin  and  killed,  as  the  records  say,  two 
savages.  Before  the  howitzer's  arrival  the  Indians  had  killed  one 
man  and  wounded  five.  After  the  shell  was  fired,  the  regulars 
postponed  fui'ther  operations  until  the  morrow,  as  night  was  near. 
When  they  arose  the  next  morning  the  birds  had  flown  and  their 
cages  were  empty.  A  much  regretted  event  t)ccurred  during  the 
day;  this  was  the  killing  of  Martin  Angell,  of  Jacksonville,  who 
set  out  to  accompany  the  regulars  to  the  scene  of  the  siege.  When 
two  and  a  half  miles  from  Jacksonville,  Angell  and  Walker,  who 
were  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  advance,  were  fired  on 
by  Indians  concealed  in  the  brush  beside  the  road.  Angell  was 
killed  instantly,  four  balls  passing  through  his  head  and  neck.  On 
the  same  day  (January  2)  Charles  W.  Hull  was  hunting  on  the 
divide  between  Jackson  and  Jackass  creeks,  and  becoming  sepa- 
rated from  his  friends,  was  waylaid   and  murdered  by  Indians. 


THE  FALL  CAMPAIGNS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


403 


After  it  was  found  that  th«'  Indians  had  made  their  escape  from 
the  cabins,  the  regulars  returned  to  the  seclusion  of  Fort  Lane, 
while  Major  Bruce,  who  had  arrived  upon  the  held,  set  out  a  few 
days  later,  with  a  portion  of  Rice,  Williamson  and  Alcorn's  com- 
panies, to  follow  the  trail  of  the  fleeing  Indians  to  the  west.  The 
scouts  came  suddenly  upon  a  single  l)rave,  who  ran  -at  the  top  of 
his  speed  directly  to  his  camp.  The  savages,  warned  by  the  shout- 
ing of  the  pursued,  j)repared  for  a  fight,  and  for  quite  a  while  re- 
sisted that  part  of  Bruce's  command  which  came  into  action,  killing 
one  man,  Wiley  Cash,  of  Alcorn's  company,  and  seriously  wound- 
ing Private  Richardson,  of  O'Neal's  company.  Some  ten  or  twelve 
horses,  left  unguarded  by  the  whites,  were  taken  by  the  Indians, 
and  several  more  were  shot.  This  fight  occurred  on  the  twenty- 
first  of  January,  the  locality  being  Murphy's  Creek,  tributary  to  the 
Applegate.  Only  twenty-five  men  participated  at  first,  but  Lieu- 
tenant Armstrong  came  up  with  a  small  reinforcement,  and  after  a 
most  plucky  fight  succeeded  in  saving  the  lives  of  the  detachment. 
The  total  number  of  Indians  engaged,  under  the  leadership  of  John, 
was  pfobably  about  fifty.  No  further  active  campaign  was  made 
until  spring. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE  YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PU(iET  80UND  CAMPAIGNS. 


Troops  Concentrate  at  The  Dalles — Conjiict  of  Author Itij — An  Incident 
at  Vancouver — Block  House  Built  at  The  Cw-iK/es — Efforts  to  Equip 
the    Volunteers     Regulars  and    Volunteers  March   North  from  The 
Dalles — Plan  of  the  Campaign — The  Eight  on   the   Banks  of  the 
Yakima  and  at  the  "  Buttes " — Burning  of  the  Catholic  Mission 
Ends  the  Campaign — Efforts  to  Treat  with  Peu-peu-mox-mox — Pre- 
lude  to   the    Walla    Walla    Campaign — Eort  Henrietta — Regulars 
Refuse  their  Aid  in  a  Useless   Winter  Campaign — Unjitnes9  of  the 
Volunteers  far  such  a  Campaign — Colonel  Kelly  Marches  Against 
the  Walla  Wallas — Capture  of  Peu-peu-mox-mox   Under  a  Flag  of 
Truce — A  Night  of  Suspense  and  Excitement — A  Fruitless  Ante- 
Breakfast  March — Battle  of    Walla    Walla — Killing  of  Peu-peu- 
mox-mox  and  other  Prisoners — Ears  and  Scalp  of  the  Chief  Ex- 
hibited in  the  Willamette  Valley — The  Situation  after  the  Battle- 
Killed  and  Wounded — Great  Excitement  la  the  Willamette  when  the 
News  is  Received- — Oregonian  Editorials  on  the  Situation — General 
Wool  Condemned — His  Opinion  of  the  War  ami  the  People^ s  Opinion 
of  Him — Governor  Stevens  Prefers  Charges  Against  General  Wool-  - 
Incidents  Attending  the  Return  of  Governor  Stevens  from  the  Black- 
foot  Country — The  Charges  of  the  Irate  Governor  Pigeon-holed — 
The  Situation  During  the  Winter — Unpleasant  Experiences  of  the 
Volunteers — Reinforcements  sent  to  Walla  Walla^  Colonel  Cornelius 
Resumes  the  Offensive — Harse  Meat  Causes  a  Mutiny— No  Enemy 
Being  F'ound,  the  Command  Abandons  the  Walla  Walla  Country — 
Farewell    Courtesies    of   Kama-i-akun — The    Volunteers  Disband 
Without  Official  Recognition  of  their   Services — Honors  Received 


YAKIMA,  WALLA   WALLA   AND  PUOET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.        405 

from  the  People — Tino  Coin,pame»  rained  to  Guard  the  Colmnhior — 
Rpfrnin  of  the  '*  Ilorne-fed  Volunteer''' — The  Political  and  Specula- 
tive Aspect  of  the  dnuipaign — Oovemor  CuiTy  goes  to  Washington  to 
Couiiternet  the  Infueuce  of  General  Wool^  and  Secure  an  Apj)rop?'i- 
atiou  to  Defray  the  E.vpenses  of  the  War. 


THE  ten  companies  called  for  by  Governor  Curry  for  service  in 
the  north  were  quickly  recruited,  and  hastened  to  the  general 
rendezvous  at  The  Dalles,  Colonel  J.  W.  Nesmith  in  command. 
The  regulars  also  concentrated  there,  commanded  by  Major  G.  J. 
Raines,  of  the  4th  United  States  Infantry.  The  conflict  of  authority 
began  at  once.  Major  Raines  notified  Governor  Curry  that  he  stood 
ready  to  muster  four  companies  into  the  United  States  service,  to 
be  commanded  by  officers  of  their  own  selection.  This  was  the 
number  he  had  requested.  He  said  that  he  could  not  take  the  re- 
sponsibility of  enlisting  a  larger  force,  deeming  it  not  required,  nor 
could  he  arm  and  equip  any  of  them  unless  regularly  mustered  into 
the  service.  His  proposition  was  rejected,  and  the  effort  to  place  the 
volunteers  on  a  war  footing  was  continued.  The  two  companies 
called  for  by  Governor  Mason  were  quickly  raised,  one  at  Vancouver 
and  one  at  Olympia.  Both  were  mustered  into  the  regular  service, 
the  former  under  the  command  of  William  Strong  and  the  latter 
of  Gilmore  Hays.  The  acting  executive  of  Washington  Territory 
pursued  an  opposite  course  to  that  taken  by  Governor  Curry,  and 
sought  in  every  way  to  sustain  and  aid  the  regular  army  officers, 
instead  of  opposing  them  and  endeavoring  to  conduct  an  independ- 
ent campaign.  To  offset  the  supposed  superiority  of  rank  of  the 
commander  of  the  Oregon  regiment,  he  commissioned  Major  Raines 
as  Brigadier- General  of  Militia  in  Washington  Territory.  This 
conflict  of  rank,  however,  cut  V>ut  a  small  figure,  the  two  commands 
acting  entirely  independently,  though  co-operating,  to  a  degree,  in 
the  first  camjiaign. 

While  these  preparations  were  progressing,  an  incident  occurred 
at  Vancouver  which  called  for  the  services  of  Captain  Strong's 
company.  There  was  a  village  of  a  branch  V)and  of  the  Klickitat 
tribe  at  the  mouth  of  Lewis  River,  opposite  St.  Helens,  which  was 
a  source  of  apprehension  to  the  people.     A  number  of  the  warriors 


406 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


were  known  to  have  crossed  the  iiiountaius  to  join  the  hostile 
Yakinias;  autl  us  a  precautionary  measure,  a  party  of  thirty  men 
from  Vancouvei-  went  to  the  rancheria  and  escorted  the  thirty 
remaining  wai'viors  and  their  families  back  to  that  city,  where  they 
were  disarmed  and  instructed  to  remain  in  peace.  This  party  was 
headed  ))y  T.  H.  Smith,  Special  Indian  Agent.  On  the  eighth  of 
November  the  captives,  to  the  numbei"  of  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
stampeded  for  the  Yakinui  countiy,  and  were  pursued  by  Captain 
Strong's  company  and  a  few  regiihirs.  In  about  ten  days  they 
were  all  brought  back,  except  Umtux,  the  chief,  who  had  l)een 
killed  in  some  mysterious  way,  no  one  being  able  to  tell  "  how  it 
happened."  At  the  same  time  a  bh^'k-house  was  built  at  the  Cas- 
cades by  Captain  Wallan,  who  mounted  upon  it  a  six-pound  cannon 
and  garrisoned  it  with  a  detachment  of  ten  men  from  his  company. 
Colonel  Nesmith  had  command  of  the  Oregon  volunteers  by 
virtue  of  his  rank  as  Brigadier  General  of  Militia;  l)ut  soon  after 
the  companies  reached  The  Dalles  an  election  was  held  for  line  offi- 
cers, in  accordance  with  instructions  from  Governor  Curry.  This 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  J.  W.  Nesmith,  Colonel;  J.  K.  Kelly, 
Lieutenant-Colonel;  A.  N.  Armstrong,  First  Major;  M.  A.  Chinn, 
Second  Major.  Colonel  Nesmith's  election  was  almost  unanimous — 
the  vote  standing  five  hundred  and  eighty-three  to  foi'ty-one — and 
undoubtedly  his  equal  could  not  have  been  found  in  the  Territory. 
With  infinite  difficulty  and  persevering  energy  he  secured  arms, 
ammunition,  horses,  supplies,  etc.,  and  was  pre[)ared  to  move  al- 
most as  soon  as  the  regulars,  who  encountered  no  such  difficulties. 
An  application  to  Major  Rainer^  for  arms  and  equipments  was  re- 
fused, on  the  gi'ound  that  he  wa^  uot  authorized  to  issue  them  to 
any  but  troops  in  the  United  btutes  service.  Major  Raines  was, 
however,  very  anxious  thist  something  should  be  accomplished,  and 
partially  supplied  them  under  the  militia  law  of  the  country,  which 
entitled  every  Territory  to  draw  a  certain  amount  of  arms  and  am- 
munition from  the  Government.  Still  they  were  not  readv  to  take 
the  field.  Major  Raines,  as  a  last  effort  at  a  compromise,  offered  to 
muster  the  whole  force  into  the  regular  service,  with  Colonel  Nes- 
mith in  command  as  Major,  and  equip  them  from  the  Government 
stores,  but  the  offer  was  declined.  He  then  began  his  march  into 
the  Yakima  country  with  the  regulars,  informing  Colonel  Nesmith 


YAKIMA,   WALI.A    WALLA    AND  Pl'OKT  SOUND  OAMl'AIONS.         4(>7 


that  if  liis  c'uinmand  \va>  deft'titcd  by  reji-scni  of  its  iuf«^rior  huiuIrts, 
the  hhuiu'  would  ivst  with  the  volunteers,  who,  by  refusiug  to  be 
mustered  into  the  service,  [)revented  themselves  from  V)eing  ecjuipped 
ami  takinu'  pai't  in  the  eampaign.  A  few  days  later  Colonel  Xes- 
mith  was  so  far  prepared  with  a  portion  of  his  command  as  to  feel 
justified  in  taking  the  tield  for  a  short  eampaign.  He  accordingly 
hastened  to  overtake  Major  Raines  with  some  four  hundred  men, 
leaving  the  remainder  at  The  Dalles  under  eomnuaul  oi  Major 
Chinn.  The  volunteers  and  regulars  were  united  on  the  thii-d  of 
November,  and  continued  the  march  together. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  embraced  an  invasion  fi'om  two  di- 
rections. Kesid<s  the  force  marching  north  from  The  Dalles,  Cap- 
tain Maloney  was  instructed  to  enter  the  Yakima  country  by  way 
of  the  Natchess  Pass  with  his  company  of  the  4rth  Infantry  and 
Captain  Hays'  comi)ahy  "f  volunteers,  and  to  form  a  junction  with 
Major  Raines.  The  movements  of  Captain  Maloney's  command 
will  be  detailed  later.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  this  force  did  not 
participate  in  the  Yakima  campaign,  though  its  supposed  move- 
ments served  to  complicate  matters  considerably,  and  caused  much 
needless  anxiety.  As  the  united  foi'ces  passed  through  the  Indian 
country  they  found  and  destroyed,  or  used,  al)out  ten  thousand 
pounds  of  pi'ovisions  the  enemy  had  secreted,  chiefly  dried  salmon 
and  camas.  On  the  morning  of  the  eighth  of  Novem!)er  Captain 
Cornelius,  with  seventy  men,  made  a  detoin-  to  the  left  from  the 
night's  camp  on  Simcoe  Creek.  Towards  evening  the  main  bod}- 
reached  the  Yakima  and  went  into  camp,  the  regulars  some  tAvo 
miles  in  advance.  Major  Raines  soon  discovered  Indians  in  the 
bushes  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  stream,  and  opened  upon  them, 
,  at  the  same  time  dispatching  a  courier  to  Colonel  Nesmith.  The 
latter  dashed  away  to  the  front  at  the  head  of  sixty  men,  where  he 
found  the  regulars  and  Indians  passing  leaden  compliments  with 
the  river  flowing  between  them.  He  at  once  commenced  searching 
for  a  ford,  found  it,  crossed  the  stream,  and  dislodging  the  savages, 
followed  them  ineffectually  until  they  took  refuge  in  the  direction 
of  the  "  Buttes "  to  the  northeast.  He  then  withdre-w  and  went 
into  camp.  Lieutenant  Phil.  Sheridan,  at  the  head  of  some  twenty 
United  States  dragoons  followed  the  force  utider  Colonel  Nesmith 
across  the  river,  and  gallantly  joined  the  successful  ad\ance.    That 


408 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


evening  Captain  Cornelius  reached  Ne8mi':h's  camp,  having  been 
engaged  during  tiie  greater  part  of  the  aftei  noon  with  a  large  body 
of  Indians,  in  which  three  of  his  men  and  several  horses  had  re- 
ceived wounds. 

On  the  morning  of  November  9,  the  entire  force  moved  in  the 
direction  of  a  gap  in  the  hills  through  which  flows  the  Yakima 
River,  at  a  point  known  as  the  "Tv.^o  Buttes."  The  advance  guard 
consisted  of  companies  commanded  by  Captains  Cornelius,  Hem- 
bree  and  Bennett.  These  drove  the  Indians  from  their  lurking 
places  in  the  bushes  along  the  river  until  all — some  three  hundred — 
had  fallen  back  and  taken  posses"ion  of  their  rude  fortifications 
upon  the  "  Buttes."  At  first  a  howitzer  was  tried,  but,  for  want  of 
sufl&cient  elevation,  it  failed  to  reach  the  enemy.  Then  Major  Ilal- 
ler  and  Captain  {now  General)  Augur  with  their  commands,  aided 
by  a  force  of  volunteers,  charged  up  the  rugged,  broken  face  of  the 
mountain,  the  Ii;dians  fleeing  down  the  opposite  side.  The  savages 
had  made  no  resistance ;  consequently  no  one  was  hurt.  That  night 
the  whites  camped  at  the  base  of  the  "Buttes,"  and  tb»^  Ir^dians  re- 
occupied  the  abandoned  heights;  but  in  the  morning  they  were 
arain  dislodo-ed  with  a  loss  of  two  killed.  The  captui'e  of  their 
entire  force  at  this  time  only  failed  through  the  misconception  of 
orders  by  Lieutenant  D.  B.  Hannah.  The  Indians  at  once  aban- 
doned that  section  of  country,  and  there  was  no  more  fighting,  save 
a  little  skirmishing  with  a  few  straggling  bands  in  the  valley.  At 
night  the  troops  bivouacked  by  the  Atahnum  River,  some  two 
miles  east  of  the  Catholic  Mission. 

Up  to  this  time  no  communication  had  been  received  fi'om  Cap- 
tain Maloney,  and  fears  were  entertained  that  the  entire  force  of 
Indians  had  gone  in  the  direction  of  the  Natchess  Pass  for  the  pur- 
pose of  overwhelming  him  by  numbers.  Colonel  Nesmith,  with 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  among  whom  were  Phil.  Sheridan  and 
his  dragoons,  started  on  the  morning  of  November  11,  with  a  view 
of  rendering  assistance  t'>  Captain  Maloney  if  he  needed  it,  or  at 
least  to  open  communication  with  him.  A  violent  hiiow  storm  set- 
ting in,  he  was  forced  to  return ;  and,  af*:er  an  absence  of  three 
days,  his  tents  were  pitched  at  the  «>ld  Catholic  Mission,  where  the 
main  force  under  Major  Raines  had  preceded  him.  While  stationed 
there  the  troops  "accidentally"  burned  the  mission  building,  a  rude 


TAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  ^TTGET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.       409 


structure  formed  of  poles  and  mud.  On  the  fifteenth  a  council  of 
war  decided  unanimously  that  the  reduced  commissary  supj)lies 
warranted  an  immediate  return  to  The  Dalles,  and  the  line  of 
march  was  at  once  taken  up.  Thus  ended  the  Yakima  camj)aign. 
While  the  troops  were  first  assembling  at  The  Dalles  an  effort 
had  been  made  to  placate  the  great  and  influential  chief  of  the 
Walla  W^allas,  whose  signature  to  the  treaty  had  been  secured  only 
after  gxeat  concessions  to  him  individually,  and  whose  former 
friendship  for  Americans  had  been  changed  to  hati'ed  by  the  un- 
provoked murder  of  his  son  at  Sutter's  Fort,  in  California,  a  few 
years  before.  The  chief  cause  of  anxiety  was  the  small  party  of 
Goveiuor  Stevens,  which,  in  the  event  of  the  joining  of  the  Walla 
Wallas  and  Cayuses  in  the  war,  would  be  cut  off  from  any  avenue 
of  return  which  did  not  lead  through  a  hostile  country.  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  if  he  would  havd  been  molested  had  the  subse- 
quent campaign  in  that  region  not  b  'en  undertaken.  To  accom- 
plish the  desired  end  Nathan  Omey,  the  Tndian  Agent,  started  from 
The  Dalles  with  five  hundred  dollars  in  silver  and  some  presents  of 
goods  to  pay  Peu-peu-mox-mox  the  first  installment  due  him  under 
the  treaty.  He  was  accompanied  on  the  journey  only  by  Ta-be-bo, 
a  haJf-breed,  and  A.  P.  Woodard.  On  their  arrival,  October  12, 
at  Old  Fort  Walla  Walla,  near  the  mouth  of  the  riv^r  of  that  name, 
they  were  cordially  received  by  James  Sinclair,  who,  with  three  or 
four  men,  had  charge  of  the  fort  as  representative  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  Peu-peu-mox-mox  was  sent  for  and  told  that  the 
promised  money  and  goods  awaited  him,  but  he  returned  a  sullen 
and  defiant  reply.  He  repudiated  the  treaty ;  said  he  would  accept 
neither  presents  nor  money  from  the  Government,  and  wanted  the 
whites  to  leave  his  country.  A  council  between  the  Agent  and 
Sinclair  resulted  in  a  determination  to  abandon  the  fort.  The  sur- 
plus ammunition,  stored  there  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  was 
taken  out  in  a  boat  and  dumped  in  the  Columbia  River,  to  prevent 
its  falling  into  the  hands  of  Indians.  Then  the  settlers,  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  men,  and  a  number  of  miners  who  had  reached  this  point 
from  Colville,  started  for  The  Dalles,  leaving  the  hostile  country 
east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  untenanted,  save  by  a  few  old  em- 
ployees of  the  company  who  were  married  to  Indian  women.  Nar- 
■  cisse  Remond,  who  enjoyed  immunity  from  molestation  because  of 


f  * 

k  i 


I 


f  n 


410 


HISTOkJr  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


his  former  connection  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  was  com- 
missioned by  Mr.  Oluey  to  remain  and  report  upon  the  conduct  of 
the  suspected  tribes.  Tliis  wliolesale  abandonment  of  the  country 
was  accepted  by  the  Indians  as  an  invitation  to  do  as  they  pleased 
with  what  had  been  left  behind.  They  burned  the  Umatilla  Mis- 
sion, in  which  had  been  stored  a  quantity  of  supplies  by  Governor 
Stevens,  plundered  McKay's  house  and  other  places,  drove  the  cattle 
of  Brooke,  Bumford  and  Noble  away  from  Waiilatpu,  and  took 
possession  of  and  pillaged  Fort  Walla  Walla.  This  was  done  ])y 
Yakima  and  Palouse  Indians,  assisted  by  certain  factions  of  the 
Walla  Wallas,  Cayuses  and  Umatillas.  Howlish-Wampoo,  head 
chief  of  the  Cayuses,  endeavored  m  vain  to  prevent  the  Yakinias 
and  Palouses  from  driving  tlie  cattle  away  from  Waiilatpu.  T-'<- 
Walla  Walla  affair  was  the  work  of  Peu-peu-mox-mox  and  his  foi- 
louers.  On  the  whole  these  acts  can  hardly  V)e  considered  as  a 
sufficient  cause  for  an  im'asion  of  their  country  by  the  forces  of 
Governor  Curry,  at  an  expense  of  millions  of  dollars  to  the  Gen- 
eral Government.  If  })rotection  of  the  settlers  in  the  Willamette, 
along  the  lower  Columbia  and  on  Puget  Sound,  was  desired,  that 
object  could  have  been  more  effectually  accomplished  by  guarding 
the  lines  of  appi'oach.  By  leaving  these  open  and  invading  the 
Indian  country,  they  not  only  invited  the  danger  they  apprehended, 
but  showed  that  on  the  part  of  the  leaders,  at  least,  the  war  was 
an  offensive,  and  not  a  defensive,  one.  Even  if  an  invasion  were 
in  any  event  to  be  feared,  it  certainly  could  not  be  made  until 
spring,  the  routes  through  the  mountains  being,  with  the  aid  of  a 
few  troops,  sufficiently  guarded  from  approach  by  the  icy  hand  of 
winter.  Furthermore,  this  conduct  on  tlie  part  oi  the  L  lians  was 
not  known  until  after  the  campaign  had  been  decided  upon  and  a 
force  dispatched  from  The  Dalles  to  begin  its  execution.  The 
rescue  of  Governor  Stevens  from  possible  attack  l)y  the  disaffected 
Walla  Wallas  or  Cayuses,  then,  could  l)e  thv  only  excuse  for  stand- 
ing an  aruK'd  force  into  the  Walla  Walla  country;  Init  thif  ^i<  - 1 
in  itself  by  no  means  req^nred  so  long  a  campaign — continuing 
some  months  after  the  Governor's  return — nor  the  employment  of 
so  large  an  army  at  sucli  an  enormous  outlay.  The  safe  return  of 
His  Excellency  could  have  been  accomplished  at  a  comparatively 
trifling  expense. 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PUGET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.       411 


Without  waiting  for  the  information  expected  from  Mr.  Remond, 
Governor  Curry  decided  to  invade  the  Walla  Walla  country  in 
force.  He  dispatched  two  companies  on  the  seventh  of  November 
to  reinforce  Colonel  Nesmith  in  the  Yakima  country,  and  at  the 
same  time  sending  orders  for  him  to  proceed  directly  to  Foi't  Walla 
Walla,  where  he  would  be  joined  by  one  hundred  and  fift}'  men 
from  The  Dalles.  The  reinforcements  lost  their  way,  and  failed  to 
reach  Colonel  Nesmith  until  they  met  him  on  the  seventeenth  in 
the  Simcoe  Mountains,  on  his  way  back  to  The  Dalles.  It  was 
then  impossible  to  obey  the  Governor's  instructions,  and  Colonel 
Nesmith  continued  his  homeward  march  to  The  Dalles.  Mean- 
wliile,  on  the  twelfth,  Major  Chinn  started  with  two  coin[)anies  for 
Fort  Walla  Walla,  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Columbia.  On  the 
night  of  the  seventeenth  they  encamped  at  Well  Springs,  where 
they  were  joined  by  two  couriers  from  Narcisse  Reniond  with  intel- 
ligence from  the  Walla  Walla  country,  the  substance  of  which  has 
been  previously  given.  This  information  caused  Major  Chinn  to 
abandon  the  march  for  Fort  Walla  Walla,  and  to  proceed  to  the 
site  of  the  burned  Catholic  Mission  on  the  Uu'atilla,  to  await  rein- 
forcements, for  which  he  dispatched  a  courier.  He  there  erected 
defensive  works,  and  on  the  t\venty-first  sent  anothc^r  courier  asking 
for  two  more  companies  and  some  artillery.  He  thus  describes  Fort 
Henrietta:  'We  have  an  abundance  of  timlier  and  water,  and 
tolerable  grass  for  stock.  We  have  picket<^'d  in  with  large  split 
timber  one  hundred  feet  square  of  ground,  and  erected  two  bastions, 
of  round  logs,  on  two  of  the  angles;  and  from  the  rails  found  here 
made  two  corrals  for  the  horses  and  cattle.  This,  as  a  defeice,  is 
good  against  any  body  of  Indians." 

Considerable  excitement  v  'as  created  Pt  The  Dalles  by  the  intel- 
ligence brought  iu  from  Mnjo.'  Chinn.  It  was  at  once  assumed  that 
his  command  was  in  a  perilous  ?ituat'.on,  and  must  be  immi^diately 
reinforced  to  preserve  it  from  disaster.  The  companies  of  Captains 
Munson,  Wilson  and  Cornoyer,  consisting  of  some  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  men,  were  at  once  sent  forward,  accompanied  by  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel James  K.  Kelly,  who  was  to  take  command  of  the 
whole  battalion.  Application  was  made  by  Colonel  Nesmith  to 
Major  Raines  for  two  howitzers  and  artillerymen  to  man  them, 
stating  that  he  had  preferred  a  similar  request  to  General  Wool,  at 


I 
I 


412 


HISTORY  OP  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


Vancouver,  but  could  not  delay  action  for  a  reply.  In  this  letter 
lie  quoted,  with  telling  effect,  a  few  lines  which  had  been  addressed 
to  him  by  Major  Raines,  as  he  started  upon  the  Yakima  campaign, 
reproaching  him  for  obstructing  the  movements  of  his  allies  and 
permitting  them  to  encounter  the  enemy  unaided.  General  Wool 
had  arrived  from  San  Francisco  a  few  days  before,  bringing  sixty 
regulars,  two  thousand  stand  of  arms,  and  three  hundred  tons  of 
stores  and  ammunition.  He  was  in  ill-health,  and  did  not  visit  the 
seat  of  operations  at  The  Dalles,  but  remained  at  headquarters  in 
Vancouver.  ITr*  received  the  reports  of  his  subordinates  as  to  the 
caus3  of  hostilii.(  '  the  present  situation,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  there  \.  no  necessity  for  a  war  and  no  need  of  a  win- 
ter campaign.  With  the  regular  troops  to  occupy  the  Columbia 
there  was  no  danger  of  invasion  of  the  AViilamette,  and  all  that  was 
required  to  end  the  war-  was  for  the  volunteers  to  return  home  and 
disband.  Such  was  the  opinion  of  the  commander  of  the  depart- 
ment, and  it  must  be  confessed  that  he  was,  in  the  main,  correct. 
Such  a  line  of  conduct  would  have  saved  the  lives  of  a  score  of 
brave  volunteers  and  the  Government  many  thoiisands  of  dollars, 
though,  to  be  sure,  not  ?o  profitable  to  the  contractor  and  those 
whose  patriotism  was  confined  to  questionable  dealings  with  the 
commissary  department.  With  troops  stationed  at  The  Dalles, 
Cascades,  Vancouver,  and  suitable  points  on  Puget  Sound,  no  attack 
need  be  feared  from  the  Eastern  Indians  until  spring,  even  assum- 
ing that  they  were  disposed  to  risk  an  invasion  of  the  settlements 
at  all.  A  whole  regiment  of  regulars  was  on  the  way  and  would 
arrive  in  ample  time  to  participate  in  a  campaign  in  the  spring,  if 
one  should  prove  to  be  necessary.  It  was  certainly  the  duty  of 
Governor  Curry  to  recall  Major  Chinn  and  disband  the  volunteer 
army,  or,  at  least,  the  greater  portion  of  it.  If  necessary,  the  safe  re- 
turn of  Governor  Stevens  could  have  been  provided  for  by  sending 
him  an  armed  escort  to  accompany  him  home  after  he  had  reached 
the  friendly  Nez  Perces.  General  A\'ool,  consequently,  refused  to 
furnish  howitzers,  or  to  participate  in  the  proposed  campaign  in  any 
way,  and  withdrew  his  forces  to  winter  quarter  at  Vancouver, 
including  the  Washington  Territory  volunteers. 

The  absurdity  of  undertaking  a  winter  campaign  so  far  away 
from  the  base  of  supplies  becomes  still  more  apparent  by  the  fol- 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PUOET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.       413 

lowing  quotation  fi-om  the  report  of  Colonel  Nesniith  of  the  condi- 
tion .of  his  command  upon  their  return  fi'om  only  three  weeks'  cam- 
paigning in  the  Yakima  country: 

Many  of  the  men  were  frost-bitten  on  the  late  expedition,  and  can  hardly  be 
said  to  be  fit  for  duty.  An  insjiection  of  horses  has  been  had  at  camp,  and  about 
one-fourth  of  the  whole  number  were  found  fitted  for  present  duty.  About  one- 
half  of  the  men  composing  the  whole  command  desire  their  discbarge.  I  have 
given  a  few  discharges  upon  the  written  report  of  the  surgeon,  stating  that  the  men 
were  unfit  for  duty.  I  have,  also,  granted  furloughs  to  a  few  of  the  men  who  have 
urgent  business  requiring  their  personal  attention  for  short  periods ;  and  am  now 
anxiously  awaiting  orders  for  the  disposition  of  the  remainder  of  the  command. 
*  *  *  *  The  right  column,  which  was  under  my  immediate  command, 
suffered  intensely  during  the  campaign,  for  want  of  tents  to  protect  them  from  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather.  My  recpiisition  for  tents  is  still  unfilled.  There  is 
much,justifli)ble  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  men,  by  reason  of  their  exposed  con- 
dition. 

On  the  twenty -eighth  he  .,r  warded  to  Colonel  Kelly  the  com- 
panies of  Captains  Bennett  and  Cornelius,  increasing  the  force  in 
the  field  to  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  men,  besides  two  com- 
panies under  Major  Armstrong,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Des  Chutes 
and  John  Day  rivers.  He  then  started  for  the  Willamette  Valley 
for  a  temporary  absence,  leaving  Captain  Farrar  in  command  at 
The  Dalles,  but  soon  after  reaching  Portland  resigned  his  commis- 
sion and  retired  to  private  life.  While  preparations  were  being 
made  for  this  campaign  the  Orcgonian  editorially  commented  upon 
the  selfishness,  greed  and  want  of  patriotism  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  who  demanded  enormous  prices  for  everything  furnished 
for  the  use  of  the  troops. 

Colonel  Kelly  reached  Fort  Henrietta  on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
November,  and  learning  that  the  Indians  were  in  force  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Walla  Walla,  determined  to  march  upon  them 
without  delay.  His  command  moved  on  the  fifth  of  December  in 
two  divisions.  Major  Chinn,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  and 
all  the  baggage,  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  Touchet  River, 
while  Colonel  Kelly,  with  two  hundred  men,  unincumbered,  moved 
up  the  stream  for  the  purpose,  as  his  subsequent  report  declares, 
"  of  attacking  the  Walla  Wallas,"  who  were  supposed  to  be  en- 
camped there.  As  they  proceeded  up  the  Touchet,  Captain  Cornoyer 
and  a  few  of  his  company  of  scouts  marched  a  long  distance  in  ad- 
vance. Suddenly,  while  approaching  the  summit  of  a  hill,  several 
Indians  appeared  in  his  immediate  front,  advancing  from  the  oppo- 


414 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


site  side  of  the  crest.  In  an  instant  the  Captain's  gun  was  leveled 
upon  the  one  in  advance,  but,  before  he  could  fire,  a  flag  of  truce 
was  disfovered  in  the  hand  of  the  savage;  and  the  Captain's  com- 
panions cried  out,  "Don't  shoot!  don't  shoot!  it's  Peu-peu-mox- 
mox!"  A  parley  followed;  but,  while  it  was  going  on,  the  Captain 
discovered  a  band  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  on  horse- 
back, advancing  in  the  direction  from  which  the  chief  h.tid  come. 
In  a  twinkling  his  gun  again  covered  Peu-peu-mox-mox,  who  was 
told  that  if  his  followers  continued  to  approach,  his  own  life  would 
pay  the  forfeit;  and,  at  a  signal  accompanied  by  a  peculiar  cry,  the 
advancing  party  halted  as  if  by  magic,  every  one  of  -whom  dis- 
mounted and  stood  by  his  horse.  The  Chief  asked  if  Nathan  01ney> 
the  Indian  Agent,  was  with  the  soldiers;  and  on  being  told  that  he 
was,  expressed  a  desire  to  see  him.  He  stated  that  he  wanted  no 
fighting;  that  he  had  determined  at  first  to  make  war  on  the  whites, 
but,  after  reflection,  had  concluded  that  it  was  not  policy  for  his 
people  to  do  so;  that  he  was  willing  to  make  all  amends  that  lay 
in  his  power  for  what  his  tribe  had  done;  and  was  anxi(jus  to  se- 
cure a  permnnent  peace.  The  Captain  sent  one  of  his  men  back  to 
report,  asking  Colonel  Keily  to  come  with  Olney  and  meet  the  flag 
of  truce  paity.  Accordingly,  the  volunteers  were  halted  in  plain 
sight  of  the  little  s(juad  on  the  hill,  while  the  parties  indicated,  with 
John  McBean  for  interpreter,  went  forward  to  meet  the  redoubtable 
chief. 

Considerable  time  was  consumed  in  the  conference ;  and,  as  it 
passed,  gradually  the  main  body  of  both  Indians  and  volunteers 
approached  the  central  group  until  all  were  together,  the  soldiers 
surrounding  the  flag  party  with  the  main  force  of  Indians  on  the 
outside.  Finally,  the  entire  body  moved  toward  the  Indian  village, 
until  it  was  discovered  that  the  trail  they  were  following  passed 
through  a  dangerous  canyon,  when  another  halt  was  made.  A 
portion  of  the  troops  had  already  entered  the  canyon,  among  whom 
was  Captain  Cornoyer,  who,  on  turning  back  to  learn  what  caused 
the  delay,  found  that  fears  were  entertained  by  some  of  the  officers 
that  treachery  was  intended  by  Peu-peu-mox-mox.  Captains  Cor- 
noyer, Bennett,  and  others  were  of  a  different  opinion ;  they  said 
treachery  on  his  part  would  cost  him  his  life,  and  he  knew  it.  "  Put 
him  in  my  charge,"  said  Captain  Cornoyer,  "  he  will  then  know  that 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PUGET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.       415 


the  first  gun  fired  upon  our  ranks  will  be  a  signal  of  his  own  death, 
and  there  will  he  no  danger.  Let  us  go  to  their  village  to-night, 
and  the  peace  he  promises  W'ill  be  a  certainty,  for  we  will  have  them 
all  in  cmr  power."  This  advice  was  not  taken.  Colonel  Kelly  and 
Nathan  Olney  insisted  that  if  his  professions  wi-re  in  good  faith, 
they  could  be  carried  out  the  next  day  just  as  well  as  to  run  the 
risk  of  a  dangerous  j^ass  that  evening;  and  it  was  determined  to 
move  V>ack  on  the  trail  a  shoi't  distance  and  cam[»,  supperless,  for 
the  night.  The  flag  of  truce  riulians  were  taken  with  them,  under 
close  guard,  as  disarmed  prisoners,  held  as  hostages  for  the  good 
conduct  of  the  others  until  the  ne.\t  day,  the  chief  l)eing  informed 
that  he  must  so  remain  with  them  or  his  village  would  at  once  be 
attacked. 

That  night  the  cam))  and  its  vicinit}^  were  the  scene  of  stormy 
councils  and  of  stormy  elements.  The  volunteers  were  tired,  hun- 
gry and  dissatisfied,  while  the  iidiospitable  elements,  shedding  their 
fleecy  cai'pet  of  snow  ujwn  the  ground  for  the  soldiers  to  lie  upon, 
made  them  angry  and  almost  nuitinous,  in  their  belief  that  it  was 
the  prisoner's  fault  that  had  pluced  them  in  their  disagi'eeable 
position.  "  Shoot  the  damned  Indians !"  was  a  cry  fre(|uently 
heard  from  different  pnrts  of  the  camp,  and  the  captives  became 
restless  and  ill  at  ease,  l)elieving  that  their  lives  were  in  danger. 
The  chief  requested  to  be  given  his  freedom,  and  some  of  the  oflScers 
were  in  favor  of  permitting  him  to  go,  while  others  were  not. 
Finally,  an  Indian  apj^eared  on  an  adjacent  hill  who  desired  to  talk 
with  the  chief,  but  would  not  come  in  ;  and  Captain  Cornoyer  went 
(mt  to  talk  with  him,  accompanied  by  several,  among  whom  was 
John  McBean,  the  interpreter.  The  interview  was  unsatisfactory, 
as  the  Indian  seemed  only  desirous  of  being  heard  by  the  captive 
chief,  cind  talked  in  a  very  loud  voice.  What  he  said  was  not 
made  clear  to  the  Captain  and  his  associates,  and,  concluding  that 
all  was  not  right,  they  took  the  loud-voiced  messenger  back  with 
them  a  prisoner  into  camp.  At  different  times  in  the  night  In- 
dians came  around  upon  the  hills  and  shouted  communications  to 
the  chief,  who  told  his  captors  that  his  people  were  becoming 
fi'ightened  for  their  own  safety  and  his.  Morning  revealed  the 
fact  that  the  camp  had  been  surrounded  during  the  night  by  a 
cordon  of  mounted   Indians,  who  evidently  had  listened  to  the 


416 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


threats,  dissensions,  and  unfriendly  talk  in  the  volunteer  earap, 
which  was  enough,  in  combination  with  the  fact  that  their  chief 
was  a  prisoner,  to  make  them  fear  treachery  on  the  pan  of  the 
whites. 

All  existing  evidence  goes  to  prove  that  this  great  Walla 
Walla  leader  came  to  sue  for  peace  in  good  faith  ;  that  his  ad- 
vances were  received  with  mistrust ;  that  he  was  taken  prisoner 
while  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  make  sure  that  he  would  do  what  he 
affirmed  a  willingness  to  do  ;  and  that  the  actions  and  talk  in  camp 
that  night  made  both  him  and  his  followers  fear  treachery  from  the 
whites,  whicli  caused  the  Indians  to  alter  their  plans.  This  change 
in  policy  was  evidently  made  known  to  Peu-peumox-mox  by 
those  who  shouted  messages  to  him  from  the  surrounding  hills. 
In  doing  this  they  used  the  Cayuse  tongue,  a  language  unknown  to 
the  inter]>reter,  and  one  not  in  general  use,  even  by  the  Cayuse 
tribe  themselves,  Nez  Perce  being  the  common  language  of  all 
these  Indians.  The  next  morning  the  captive  chief,  in  ])ur8uance 
of  the  new  plans,  secured  a  delay  in  moving,  by  urging  that  his 
people  needed  time  to  prepare  breakfast  for  so  many  men.  Shortly 
before  noon  the  march  was  taken  up,  the  dangerous  canyon  passed, 
and  the  village  reached  ;  but  no  smoking  repast  or  cordial  welcome 
awaited  them.  The  village  was  deserted,  and  as  the  hungry  and 
disappointed  men  gathered  around  the  still  smoldering  camp-fires, 
they  knew  that  a  battle  must  be  fought.  Straggling  Indians  could 
be  seen  on  the  surrounding  hills,  and  three  of  them,  one  a  son  of 
the  captive  chief,  came  within  speaking  distance  and  demanded  to 
see  the  prisoner.  The  son  was  persuaded  to  enter  the  camp,  upon 
assurance  of  safety,  and  when  he  did  so  the  father  told  him  he 
wanted  his  people  all  to  come  in  and  make  peace.  The  young  man 
went  away  saying  that  he  would  do  as  requested,  but  nothing  fur- 
tuer  was  heard  from  him  ;  and,  finally,  Colonel  Kelly  proceeded  to 
march  his  hungry  command  "to  the  mouth  of  the  Touchet,  with  a 
view  of  going  from  thence  to  some  spot  near  Whitman's  Station, 
where  I  had  intended  to  form  a  permanent  camp  for  the  winter." 
His  report  continues  thus  :  "  On  the  morning  of  the  seventh,  com- 
panies H  and  K  crossed  the  Touchet,  leading  the  column  on  the 
route  to  Whitman's  Valley,  and  when  formed  on  the  plain  were 
joined  by  Company  B.     A  few  persons  in  front  were  driving  our 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PUGET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS. 


417 


cattle,  and  a  few  were  on  the  flanks  of  the  companies  and  near  the 
foot  of  the  hills  that  extend  along  the  river.  These  persons,  as 
well  as  I  can  ascertain,  were  fired  on  by  the  Indians."  It  is  as- 
serted, however,  by  members  of  Company  B,  that  one  of  the  flank- 
el's  of  that  company,  a  man  called  "  Jont,"  fired  the  first  shot,  which 
was  returned  by  the  savages.  Companies  A  and  F  were  detailed 
to  guard  the  baggage,  and  the  remainder  of  the  command  made  an 
immediate  attack  upon  the  enemy.  The  Indians  were  pui'sued  a 
distance  of  seven  miles  across  the  hills  and  up  the  Walla  Walla 
River,  a  running  fight  being  kept  up,  until  they  made  a  temporary 
stand  on  Dry  Creek.  They  again  fled  ;  but  four  miles  beyond  Dry 
Creek  they  made  a  determined  stand,  near  the  cabin  of  a  French 
Canadian  named  "  La  Roccpie,"  where  a  desperate  battle  occurred. 
Their  line  extended  from  the  hills  across  the  flat  to  the  river. 
Along  the  stream  was  a  thick  o-rowth  of  cotton  wood  and  under- 
brush,  while  the  flat  wt\s  covei'ed  with  sage  brush  and  sand  knolls. 
These  all  furnished  a  good  screen  for  Indians  on  foot,  while  mounted 
ones  lined  the  hillsides.     The  report  says  : — 

When  the  volunteers  renehed  this  point  there  were  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty 
men,  heiiiK  those  mounted  upon  the  fleetest  horses.  Upon  these  the  Indians  poured 
a  murderous  fire  from  the  hrushwood  and  willows  alonj?  the  river,  and  from  the 
sage  bushes  along  the  plain,  wounding  a  number  of  tlie  volunteers.  The  men  fell 
back.  'I'he  moment  was  critical.  They  were  commanded  to  cross  the  fence  which 
surrounds  La  Rooque's  field  and  charge  upon  the  Indians  in  the  brush.  In  execut- 
ing this  order  Lieutenant  Burrows,  of  Company  H,  was  Itilled,  and  Captain  Mun- 
son,  of  Company  I,  Isaac  Miller,  Sergeant-Miijor,  and  G.  W.  Smith,  of  Com[)any  B, 
were  wounded.  A  di.-<patch  having  been  sent  to  Captain  Wilson,  of  Company  A, 
to  come  forward,  he  and  his  company  came  up  on  a  gallop,  dismounted  at  a  slough, 
and  with  fixed  bayonets  pushed  on  through  the  brush.  In  the  course  of  half  an 
hour  Captain  Bennett  was  on  the  ground  with  Company  F,  and  with  this  accession 
the  enemy  were  steadily  driven  forward  for  two  miles,  when  they  took  possession 
of  a  farm  house  and  close  fence  (Teliier's),  In  attempting  to  carry  which  Captain 
Bennett,  of  Company  F,  and  Private  Kelso,  of  Company  A,  were  killed.  A  howit- 
zer found  at  Fort  Walla  Walla,  under  charge  of  Captain  Wilson,  by  this  time  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  enemy.  Four  rounds  were  fired  when  the  piece  bursted, 
wounding  Captain  Wilson.  Tlie  Indians  *' ->n  gave  way  at  all  points;  the  house 
and  fence  were  seized  and  held  by  tlie  vo  rs  and  the  bodies  of  our  men  were 

recovered.    These  positions  were  held  by  itil  nightfall,  when  the  volunteers 

fell  slowly  back  and  returned  unmolested,  to  camp  around  the  cabin  of  La  Bocque 
during  the  night. 

While  the  battle  was  progressing,  there  was  enacted  a  scene 
which  furnished  General  Wool  with  material  for  one  of  the  most 
telling  of  his  reflections  upon  the  spirit  evinced  by  the  people  in 


418 


niSTOKY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


the  conduct  of  the  war.  This  was  the  killing  of  Ptii-peu-niox-mox 
while  a  prisoner,  held  in  duress  in  defiance  of  the  rules  of  civilized 
war  which  guarantee  the  sanctity  of  a  flag  of  truce  The  details  of 
this  affair,  as  related  by  several  eye-witnesses  and  )t:ntici|)nnrs,  were 
as  follows:  The  surgeons  had  decided  to  use  Lallocipic's  cabin, 
where  the  Indians  had  made  their  tirst  stand,  as  a  hospital  foi'  the 
wounded.  Near  it  the  unfortunate  Lieuteiuuit  J.  M.  Burr()vvs  lay 
dead,  and  several  wounded  were  being  attended  to.  The  cuinhatants 
had  passed  <»n  up  the  valley,  and  the  distant  dett)nation  (tf  their 
guns  (.'ould  V>e  heard.  The  flag  of  truce  prisoners  were  there  under 
guard,  and  every  one  seemed  electrified  with  sujipressed  excitement. 
A  wounded  man  came  in  with  his  shattered  ai'm  dangling  at  his  side, 
and  reported  Captain  Bennett  killed  at  the  front.  This  added  to 
the  excitement,  and  the  attention  of  all  was  more  oi-  less  attracted 
to  the  wounded  man,  when  some  one  said,  "Look  out,  or  the  Indi- 
ans will  get  away!"  At  this,  seemingly,  every  one  yelled,  "Shoot 
'em!  Shoot  'em!"  and  on  the  instant  there  was  a  rattle  (»f  musketry 
on  all  sides.  It  was  over  in  a  minute,  and  three  of  the  five  pris- 
oners lay  dead,  another  was  rendered  insensible  by  a  blow,  but  re- 
covering in  a  few  moments  was  shot  to  end  his  misery ;  the  fifth, 
being  a  Nez  Perce,  was  spared,  and  the  fact  that  they  were  able  to 
control  their  excitement  sufficiently  to  make  this  nice  disc,riminati(.)n 
shows  there  was  a  "  methotl  in  their  madness."  Some  of  the  wit- 
nesses say  the  shooting  was  caused  b}'  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  prisoners  to  escape,  but  the  greater  number  state  that  a  refusal 
by  Peu-peu-mox-mox  to  be  tied  led  to  a  struggle  which  ended  as 
above.  The  men  were  angry  and  preferred  the  excitement  of  the 
fight  to  the  unjileasant  duty  of  g:uarding  Intlians,  and  took  the  first 
good  opportunity  which  offered  to  rid  themselves  of  their  incum- 
brances. Only  one  had  an  opjioitunity  given  him  to  fight  for  his 
life.  This  was  a  Willamette  Indian  named  "  Jim  "  or  "  Wolf  Skin," 
who  had  a  knife  upon  his  pereon.  Drawing  this  he  fought  des- 
perately until  he  was  laid  low  with  a  blow  on  the  head  from  a 
musket  in  the  hands  of  a  soldier  who  had  approached  him  from 
behind.  The  dead  prisoners  were  scalped  in  true  barl)aric  style. 
This  was  not  the  end ;  the  scalp  and  ears  of  the  great  "  Yellow 
Bird  "  were  taken  to  the  Willamette  Valley  jis  trophies  of  war, 
though  at  this  late  date  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  ears  of  a 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PUOET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.        419 

slain  prisoner,  who  had  been  captured  under  a  flag  of  truce,  could 

be  looked  upon  in  the  light  of  honoralile  trophies  of  war.     There 

is  no  question  about  this  tact,  and  there  are  living  in  Oregon  to-day 

many  before  whose  eyes  these  trophies  were  displayed.     The  Ore- 

gonian  of  January  5,  1850,  records  the  fact  tliat  on  the  thirty-fii-st 

of  December  Dr.  8haw,  Assistant  Surgeon   O.  M.  V.,  arrived  in 

Portland,  having  in  his  possession  the  ears  of  Peu-p;'U-niox-inox, 

accompanied  by  Mr.  Story,  of  Company  A,  who  displayed  th(i  same 

chief's  scalp.     It  can  well   be  imagined  with  what  telling  effect 

General  Wool  related  this  incident  in  his  official  report,  his  various 

newspaper  communications  and  [)rivate  letters. 

The  battle  was  renewed  the  folhjwing  day  and  lasted  four  days 

longer.      The  incidents,  as  reported  by  Colonel  Kelly,  were  as 

follows: — 

Eurly  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth  the  Indians  appeared  with  increased  forces, 
amounting;  to  fully  six  hundred  warriors.  Tiiey  were  posted  as  usual  in  the  thiclt 
brush  by  tlie  river — among  tlie  sage  bushes  and  sand  Unolls,  and  on  tlie  surround- 
ing liills.  Tills  day  Lieutenant  Pillow  with  Com|)any  A,  and  Lieutenant  Hannon 
with  Company  H,  were  ordered  to  talte  and  liold  the  brush  skirting  tlie  river  and 
sage  bushes  on  tlie  plain.  Lieutenant  Fellows  with  C -nipany  F  was  directed  to 
take  and  keep  the  possession  of  the  point  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  I-ieutenant  Jef- 
fries with  Company  B,  Lieutenant  Hand  with  Company  I,  and  Captain  Cornoyer 
with  Company  K,  were  posted  on  three  several  points  on  the  hills  with  orders  to 
maintain  them  and  to  assail  ihe  enemy  on  other  points  of  the  same  hills.  As  usual, 
the  Indians  were  driven  from  their  position,  althougli  they  fought  with  skill  and 
bravery.  On  the  ninth  tliey  did  not  make  their  appearance  until  al)Out  ten  o'clock 
In  the  morning,  and  tlien  in  somewhat  diminished  numbers.  As  I  had  sent  to 
Fort  Henrietta  for  Companies  D  and  E,  and  expected  tliem  on  the  tenth,  I  thought 
it  best  to  act  on  the  defensive  and  hold  our  positions  which  were  the  same  as  on 
the  eighth,  until  we  could  get  an  accession  to  our  forces  sufficient  to  enalile  us  to 
assail  their  rear  and  cut  off  tlieir  retreat.  An  attack  was  made  during  the  day  on 
Companies  A  and  H  in  tiie  brushwood,  and  upon  B  on  the  hill,  both  of  which  were 
repulsed  with  great  gallantry  by  those  companies,  and  with  considerable  loss  to  the 
enemy.  Companies  F,  land  K  also  did  great  honor  to  tliemselves  in  repelling  all 
approaches  to  their  positions,  although  in  doing  so  one  man  in  Company  F  and  one 
in  Company  I  were  severely  wounded.  Darkness  as  u'-l  ?losed  the  combat,  by 
the  enemy  withdrawing  from  the  field.  Owing  to  the  Inor  laency  of  the  night  the 
companies  on  the  hill  were  withdrawn  from  their  several  positions.  Company  B 
abandoning  its  rifle  pits  wliich  were  made  by  the  men  of  that  company  for  its  pro- 
tection. At  early  dawn  on  the  next  day  the  Indians  were  observed  from  our  camp 
to  be  in  possession  of  all  points  held  by  us  on  the  preceding  day.  TTpon  seeing 
them  Lieutenant  McAulifT  of  Company  B  gallantly  observed  that  his  company 
had  dug  those  holes  and  after  breakfast  they  would  have  them  again,  and  well  waa 
his  declaration  fulfllled,  for  in  less  than  half  an  hour,  the  enemy  was  driven  from 
the  pits  and  fled  to  an  adjoining  hill  which  they  had  occupied  the  day  before.  This 
position  was  at  once  assailed.  Captain  Cornoyer  with  Company  K,  and  a  portion 
of  Company  I,  being  mounted,  gallantly  charged  the  enemy  on  his  right  flanls, 


420 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


1^ 

It 


while  Lit- uteimiit  ftlcAuUIT'  witli  Cuiiipauy  B  diMriiouiited,  rushed  up  the  hill  in 
fttce  of  u  heavy  lire  and  Mcattered  them  in  uU  dlreetioiiii.  Tliey  ut  once  tied  in  all 
direutionH  to  return  to  thiH  buttletield  no  more,  aud  thus  ondt'd  our  lon^  contented 
tight. 

The  bravery  of  the  volunteers  tuul  their  ^ulluiit  conduct  in 
charging  and  dispersing  tlie  enemy  time  after  time,  is  worthy  the 
highest  [)raise.  Veteran  troops  coukl  not  have  done  better  service. 
The  report  says  that  it  was  learned  from  friendly  Indians  that  the 
battle  was  {)articipated  in  by  Walhi  Wallas.  IJmatillas,  Cay  uses, 
Palouscs,  and  Stock  Whitley's  band  of  Des  Chutes  ;  and  that  after 
their  (h'feat  some  of  them  went  to  Grand  R<»nde  and  othei^s  crossed 
to  the  north  side  of  Snake  River,  while  Stock  A\'hitley,  disgusted 
with  the  manner  in  which  the  others  had  fought,  took  his  baud  to 
the  Yakima  country  to  join  Kama-i-akun.  The  Indians  were  pur- 
sued a  distance  towards  Snake  River,  and  much  jirovisions  and 
cattle  were  captured.  Nai'cisse  Remond  aud  the  other  French 
Canadians  on  the  Walla  Walla,  appealed  for  protection,  and  were 
escorted  to  the  temporary  camp  where  they  were  exempt  from 
danger  of  molestation.     The  report  concludes  : — 

We  have  now  the  undisputed  possession  of  the  country  south  of  Snake  River, 
and  I  would  suggest  the  propriety  of  retaining  this  possession  until  such  time  as  it 
cun  be  occupied  by  the  regular  troops;  »  *  *  but  I  would  suggest  the 
propriety  of  following  up  the  Indians  with  all  possible  speed,  now  that  their  hopes 
arc  l>Iighted  and  their  spirits  broken.  Unless  this  is  done  they  will  perhaps  rally 
again.  I  must  earnestly  ask  that  supplies  may  be  sent  forward  to  us  witliout  delay. 
For  the  hwt  three  days  none  of  the  volunteers,  except  the  two  companies  from  Fort 
Henrietta,  have  had  any  flour.  None  is  here,  and  but  little  at  that  post.  We  are 
now  living  on  lieef  and  potatoes,  which  are  found  en  cac/te,  and  tlie  men  are  be- 
coming much  discontented  with  this  mode  of  living.  Clothing  for  the  men  is  much 
needed  ixs  the  winter  approaches.  To-morrow  we  will  remove  to  a  more  suitaiile 
point,  where  grass  can  be  obtained  in  greater  al)undance  for  our  worn-out  horses. 
A  place  lias  been  selected  about  two  miles  above  Whitman  Station,  on  the  same 
(north)  side  of  the  Walla  Walla,  consecjuently  I  will  abandon  this  fort,  named  in 
honor  of  Captain  Bennett  of  Company  F,  who  now  sleeps  beneath  its  stockade,  and 
whose  career  of  usefulness  and  bravery  was  here  so  sadly  but  nobly  closed. 

The  losses  sustained  by  the  volunteers  in  the  five  days'  conflict 
were  comparatively  slight,  only  twenty  being  injured  in  any  way. 
The  list  is  as  follows :  Killed,  Captain  Charles  Bennett,  Company 
F  ;  Lieutenant  J.  M.  Burrows,  Company  H ;  Private  S.  S.  Van 
Hagerman,  Company  I.  Mortally  wounded,  Privates  Kelso  and 
Joseph  Flemming,  Company  A  ;  Henry  Crow,  Company  H  ;  Joseph 
Sturdevant,  Company  B.  Wounded,  Captain  Lyman  B.  Monson, 
Company  I ;  Captain  A.  V.  Wilson,  Company  A  ;  Captain  Davis 


YAKIMA,  WAM.A    WALLA  AND  PUORT  rtOTJND  CAMPAIO.VS.       421 

Lnyton,  C'oiiipany  1 1  ;  PrivatcH  Casper  Snook,  T.  J.  Payne,  F. 
Cral)tree,  Nathan  Fry,  Isaac  Miller  and  A.  M.  Addington,  Com- 
pany II ;  J.  H.  (rervais,  Company  K  ;  G.  W.  Smith,  Company  H  ; 
Franklin  Duval,  Conii)any  A;  and  Sergeant  Major  Taaac  Miller. 
The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  placed  by  Colonel  Kelly  at  aVxnit 
seventy-five,  his  report  stating  that  thirty-nine  bodies  had  been 
found  by  the  volunteers.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  the  reason 
for  such  a  marke<l  contrast  in  the  losses  sustained  by  the  two  sides, 
especially  since  the  volunteers  acted  on  the  offensive  and  the  In- 
dians only  fought  when  protected  by  natural  defenses.  The  ten- 
dency to  over-estimate  the  loss  of  the  defi'ated  enemy  is  not  confined 
to  ()reg(»n  ;  it  is  as  widespread  as  the  earth's  green  carpet.  The 
total  footing  of  the  estimated  loss  of  the  enemy  reported  by  the 
comnuuulers  of  the  opposing  forces  during  the  Rebellion,  was  far 
in  excess  of  the  actual  number  of  killed,  wounded  and  captured  in 
both  the  Confederate  and  Union  iuinies,  including  the  deaths  from 
disease,  to  which  can  be  charged  fully  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  mortality 
of  war. 

News  of  the  l)attle  of  Walla  Walla  reached  The  Dalles  at  the 
time  Genei'al  Wool  was  removini;  the  re"ru]ars  to  Vancoiiver.  The 
courier  who  l)rought  the  first  intelligence  had  left  the  scene  of  con- 
flict while  the  fight  of  the  second  day  was  raging,  and,  consequently, 
could  only  say  that  a  great  l)attle  was  in  progress,  several  voliui- 
teers  had  been  killed,  and  the  result  was  yet  in  doubt.  Adhering 
to  his  determination  to  let  the  volunteers  conduct  their  operations 
— needless,  in  his  opinion — unaided  by  the  regular  troops,  the  com- 
mander apparently  paid  no  attention  to  the  startling  intelligence  of 
the  courier,  who  took  passage  from  The  Dalles  upon  the  very  boat 
which  conveyed  the  troops  to  Vancouver.  Not  so  the  people.  Ex- 
citement was  raised  to  a  high  pitch,  and  many  uncomplimentary 
remarks  were  made  about  the  indifferent  conduct  of  the  troops. 
The  Oregonian  was  especially  bitter  in  its  denunciations,  calling 
attention  to  the  circumstances  of  the  courier  and  troops  being  upon 
the  same  steamer,  in  the  following  language: — 

It  looks  bad,  to  say  the  least,  that  a  steamer  should  be  loaded  with  U.  S.  troops* 
coming  out  of  the  Indian  country  at  the  same  time  that  news  was  being  brought 
down  of  a  severe  and  bloody  conflict  of  five  days'  duration,  between  the  volunteers 
and  a  large  body  of  Indians ;  particularly  so  when  the  volunteers  were  nearly  out 
of  provisions,  short  of  ammunition,  and  entirely  destitute  of  other  necessary  articl«a 


422 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


to  carry  out  the  war;  and,  withal,  far  in  the  Indian  country,  and,  for  aught  any- 
body linew,  surrounded  by  the  enemy  and  in  danger  of  beins?  cut  ol!" entirely.  Are 
the  peoi)le,  the  civilians,  to  protect  theniselveG  and  defend  the  country  from  barba- 
rian n\araudei8,  while  those  who  have  contracted  for  that  service  remain  idle  and 
listless  in  their  winter  quarters,  eatiug,  drinking,  and  making  merry? 

Also  appeaivd  the  following  reirarks  on  the  state  of  the  war: — 

How  goes  on  the  war?  We  answer,  that  the  U.  S.  troops,  who  are  paid  for  fight- 
ing, and  who  have  been  sent  here  at  the  expense  of  the  General  C-overnment  to  pro- 
tect the  people,  are  all  housed  up  in  good  winter  viuuitvis,  eating,  drinking,  and 
making  merry,  while  a  few  bare- footed,  half-starved  volunteers,  who  came  here  at 
their  own  expense,  are  in  the  field  fighting  the  battles  of  their  country.  In  every 
fight  north,  they  came  out  first  best.  Thus  goes  the  war.  Volunteers  can  go  bare- 
footed, can  sleep  without  blankets,  eat  their  liorses,  if  need  be,  while  the  "  carpet 
knights"  [he  would  have  called  them  "  Dudes"  in  tlii.^  age  of  more  ample  epithet- 
ical  vocabularly]  of  the  regular  service  must  be  well  fed,  well  shod,  and  ivell 
blanketed,  and  have  howitzers,  withal,  or  they  can  not  take  tlie  field.  The  car- 
casses of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dead  Indians  at  Walia  Walla  plains  show  how  goes 
on  the  war. 

Ml'.  Dryer,  thinking  Colonel  Kelly's  estimate  of  the  number  of 
"  good  Indians,"  made  at  Walla  Walla,  too  modest,  multiplied  it 
by  two.  It  was  a  little  reckless  under  the  circumstances,  but  such 
was  the  style  of  that  paper  when  under  that  enthusiastic  gentle- 
man's management.  These  uncomplimentary  remarks  were  bnaight 
to  the  attention  of  General  Wool,  and  the  old  veteran  replied  to 
the  effect  that  he  professed  to  do  his  duty  :is  he  unde'-stood  it ;  that 
the  people  of  Oregon  might  say  what  they  pleased,  it  was  not  t'  ^ 
first  time  he  had  had  dogs  barking  at  his  heels.  This  was  too 
much  for  the  Oregonian;  it  smote  General  Wool  hip  and  thigh; 
said  he  was  in  his  dotage,  was  an  old  woman,  had  insulted  ^he 
people  and  called  them  dogs.  The  object  of  these  fierce  tirades 
made  no  I'eply,  yet  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  they  only  served 
to  make  him  more  set  in  his  purpose  to  pay  no  attention  whatever 
to  the  movements  of  Governor  Curry's  army,  but  to  act  entirely 
upon  his  own  resi)onsil)ility  at  his  own  chosen  time.  He  had 
decided  to  occupy  the  India.i  country  with  a  strong  force  in  the 
spring,  and  was  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  9th  regiment  to  enable 
him  to  do  so.  In  January  he  ordered  Captain  (now  General)  Ord's 
company  of  dragoons  to  San  Francisco,  and  was  abused  foi-  send- 
ing troops  out  of  the  country  and  depriving  the  people  of  the  pro- 
tection they  had  a  right  to  expect  frt)m  the  Government.  These 
complaints  were  soon  silenced  by  the  arrival  of  the  9th  regiment,  six 
buudr^d  of  whom  were  lauded  at  Vancouver  the  last  week  in  January 


YAKIMA,   WAF.r.A   WALLA    AND  PUaET  .SOHND  CAMPAIONS.        428 

by  the  stt^amers  Orcij;on  and  Republic^  two  hundred  more  being  sent 
tothc  So'ind.  The  San  Francisco  papers  published  interviews  with 
theCxenend,  who  had  icturned  to  that  city,  in  which  he  was  made  to 
state  tliat  tlic  troul)le>»  in  Oregon  were  caused  in  V>oth  cases  l)y  the 
whites,  and  that  ahmg  tlic  Columbia  there  was  no  war  other  than 
that  created  by  the  unwarranted  conduct  of  Governor  Cun'y  in 
sending  Oregon  trooj^s  into  Washington  Territory,  at  great  expense 
to  the  Govei-nnicnt,  to  attack  Indians  from  whom  the  people  of 
Oregon  had  no  reason  to  apprehend  any  danger  to  themselves 
whatever.  This  drew  out  two  columns  of  the  "Oregon  style" 
from  the  exasperated  e<litor  of  the  Oregonian^  was  severely  com- 
mented upon  by  the  other  papi^rs,  and  caused  much  indignation 
among  the  people  generally.  It  was  at  this  time  General  Wool 
wrote  the  letter  to  the  National  Intelligevcer,  which  has  been 
referred  to,  giving  a  history  of  the  cause  and  progress  of  the  war, 
and  laying  ])articular  stress  upon  the  killing  and  mutilation  of 
Peii-peu-mox-niox.  It  was  several  months  before  a  copy  of  this 
reached  Oregon,  but  when  it  did  another  baptism  of  wrath  was 
showered  upon  the  gray  hairs  of  the  Mexican  hero.  On  the  ninth 
of  Fel)ruary  the  Oregon  Legislature  addressed  a  memorial  to  the 
President,  recpiesting  the  removal  of  General  Wool  from  command 
of  tliis  department.  About  the  same  time,  Governor  Stevens,  who 
had  returneil  in  safety,  addressed  a  lung  conununicati(m  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  stating  his  personal  grievances  and  preferring  charges 
against  (ireneral  Wool.  lie  made  it  appear  that  his  innnediate  and 
safe  return  was  the  great  ([uestion  of  the  hour,  and  in  neglecting,  or 
refusing,  to  provide  for  this  the  commanding  officer  had  been 
guilty  of  a  most  heinous  crime.  General  Wocd  had  taken  the  view 
that  Governor  Stevens'  party  was  ai  >■  to  look  out  for  itself  ;  that 
if  the  executi\ e  of  Washington  T(  'iitorv  did  not  r«'turn  to  the  seat 
of  Government  for  si.\  nu)nths,  the  material  interests  of  tjie  Terri- 
tory would  not  be  in  the  lejust  jeopardized  ;  at  least  the  necessity 
of  his  immediate  retiu'n  was  not  great  enough  to  justify  him  in 
making  an  invasion  of  the  Indian  country  in  the  dead  of  winter. 
Governor  Stevens'  opinion  of  his  own  importance  seems  to  have 
been  sonu'what  great<'r  than  this.  From  this  letter  of  tl^  Governor 
are  gleaned  tiie  incidents  attending  his  return  journey.  At  the 
Hellgate  b«  wes  met  by  fourteen  Nez  I'erces,  among   whom   were 


424 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Spotted  Eagle,  Looking  Glass  and  Three  Feathers,  who,  after  a 
brief  council,  invited  him  to  go  to  their  country,  where  a  large  furce 
of  braves  would  escort  him  to  The  Dalles.  They  united  with  his 
party,  and  all  crossed  the  Bitterroot  Mountains  on  the  fourteenth 
of  November,  passing  through  three  feet  of  snow,  and  reached  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  Mission  on  the  twenty-fifth.  Here  he  heard  con- 
tradictory and  vague  rumors  of  the  events  happening  below,  and  of 
the  condition  of  affairs,  nothing  appearing  certain  except  the  fact 
that  the  Walla  Wallas,  Cayuses  and  Uinatillas  cherished  a  hostile 
spirit,  rendering  it  dangerous  foi'  him  to  attempt  to  ])ass  through 
that  region  without  a  strong  escort.  He  pushed  on  to  the  Spokane 
country,  where  he  held  a  council  with  the  three  tribes  oi  Spokanes, 
Coeur  d'Alenes  and  Colvilles,  Mr.  McDonald,  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany agent  at  Fort  Colville,  and  the  Jesuit  Fathers  stationed  at 
that  point,  being  present.  The  Indians  were  much  excited  and 
were  wavering  between  peace  and  war.  "  After  a  stormy  council 
of  several  days,''  so  says  the  comnumication,  "the  Spokanes,  Cceur 
d'Alenes  and  Cclvilles  were  entirely  conciliated,  and  promised 
they  would  reject  all  ovei'tures  of  the  hostile  Indians,  and  continue 
the  firm  friends  of  the  Avhites,"  He  augmented  his  party,  and 
made  a  forced  nuirch  to  the  Clearwater,  at  La[)\vai,  where  the  Nez 
Perces  were  assembled.  He  was  tiiere  infoi'med  that  thtf  Walla 
Walla  country  was  occu[»ied  by  hostile  Indians,  and  it  would  be 
unsafe  to  attempt  a  passage  through  unguarded.  While  nego- 
tiations were  in  progress  for  a  body  guard  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
braves  to  escort  him  to  The  Dalles,  news  was  received  that  the 
hostiles  had  been  driven  out  of  the  country  by  the  volnntters ;  and 
the  next  day  he  started  with  sixty-nine  well  armed  Nez  Perces,  and 
reached  Walla  Walla  without  encountering  any  opposition.  There 
he  found  the  Oregon  volunteers  encamped,  also  the  French  settlers 
before  alluded  to,  the  friendly  Indians,  and  B.  F.  Shaw,  Colonel  of 
Washington  Territory  Militia  and  Special  Indian  Agent.  The 
Governor  placed  him  in  command,  with  instructions  to  fortify  and 
maintain  his  gi-ound  in  case  the  Oregon  troops  should  return  home. 
He  then  disbanded  his  Nez  Perce  auxiliaries,  and  continued  his 
journey  to  the  seat  of  governnuiit  at  Olympia.  The  communica- 
tion concludes  with  the  following  specific  chai'ges  : — 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PUGET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.       425 

Mr.  Secketaky— Major  General  Wool,  cotnTnanding  the  Pacific  Division,  neg- 
lected and  refused  to  send  a  force  to  the  relief  of  myself  and  party,  when  known  to 
be  in  imminent  danger,  and  helleved  by  those  who  were  not  less  capable  of  judging, 
to  be  coming  on  to  certain  deutl),  nnd  this  when  he  bad  at  his  command  un  efticitnt 
force  of  regular  troops.  He  refused  to  sanction  the  ugreenunt  made  between  Gov- 
ernor Mason  and  Major  Raines  for  troops  to  be  sent  to  my  assistance,  and  ordered 
them  to  dislitmd.  It  was  reserved  for  the  Oregon  troops  to  rescue  us.  The  only 
demonstration  made  by  Major  Haines  resulted  in  showing  his  utter  incapacity  to 
command  in  the  field.  As  has  heretofore  been  said,  his  expedition  wgainst  the 
Yakimas  effected  nothing  but  driving  the  Indians  into  the  very  country  through 
which  I  nmst  juiss  to  reach  the  settlements.  I  therefore  j)refer  chiirges  'igainst 
General  Wool.  I  accuse  him  of  utter  and  signal  inciipacity,  of  criminal  neglect  of 
my  safety.  I  ask  for  an  investigation  into  the  matter,  and  for  his  removal  from 
command. 

Until  this  epistle  saw  the  light,  it  was  the  general  opinion 
that  Major  Raines  iintl  Colonel  Nesniith  had  acconiplishtd  consid- 
erable when  they  invaded  the  Yakima  countiy  and  compelled 
the  hostile  bands  of  Kamai-akun  to  evacuate  it;  but  Governor 
Stevens,  viewing  it  simi)ly  in  the  light  of  the  effect  it  had  upon 
him  j)ersonally,  and  not  with  regard  to  the  punishment  of  the  In- 
dians or  the  safety  of  the  people  generally,  charged  Major  Haines 
with  "utter  incaj)acity,"  because  he  drove  "the  Indians  into  the 
very  country  thi'ough  which  I  nmst  pass.''  lie  also  accused  General 
Wool  of  "utter  and  signal  incapacity,"  h  cause  of  a  "criminal  neg- 
lect of  my  safety."  It  is  no  won(1  tliat  neither  the  President  nor 
the  Secretary  of  War  paid  the  ii  ..~i  attention  to  such  frivolous 
charges  so  gravely  made.  Nor  did  a  mciuori.il  voted  by  the  Ore- 
gon Legislature  on  the  ninth  of  February,  asking  the  removal  of 
General  Wool,  receive  any  better  treatment. 

The  condition  of  affairs  up  to  this  time  had  been  much  compli- 
cated T)y  the  hostile  attitude  of  Indians  living  along  Piitret  Sound. 
When  Major  Haller  started  from  The  Dalles  upon  his  infortunate 
invasion  of  the  Yakima  country,  it  will  be  remembered  that  Lieu- 
tenant W.  A.  Slaughter  undertook  to  go  from  Ft.  Steil-Moom 
through  the  Natchess  Pass  with  forty  men,  and  form  ."  '  iiction 
with  him.  Haller  was  defeated  and  Slaughter  fell  back  to  White 
River,  where  he  was  joined  by  Captain  M.  Maloney  with  seventy- 
five  men.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  October  Captain  Gilmore  Hays 
joined  him  with  a  company  of  volunteers  from  Olympia,  and  the 
whole  force  took  up  its  march  for  the  Natchess  Pass,  expecting  to 
co-operate  with  Major  Raines  and  Colonel  Nesmith.  who  were  about 
to  invade  the  Yakima  country  in  force.    A  few  days  later,  having 


426 


HISTORY  OF   WILLAMETTE  VALLKY. 


been  informed  by  courier  that  Major  Raines  would  not  start  for 
some  weeks,  his  provisions  beginning  to  run  low,  and  tlie  lateness 
of  the  season  threatening  soon  to  blockade  the  mountains  with 
snow,  lie  deemed  it  judicious  to  return  to  Ft.  Steilacoom,  especially 
as  the  Sound  Indians  \vere  evincing  a  hostile  spirit,  and  the  invasion 
of  warlike  tribes  from  British  Columbia  was  feared.  These  North- 
ern Indians,  like  the  Saxons,  Danes  and  Norsemen  of  old,  were  ac- 
customed to  make  long  coasting  voyages  in  their  inunense  war  ca- 
noes, and  ipvade  whatever  region  they  might  see  fit.  Puget  Sound 
Indians  and,  after  its  settlement,  the  whites,  were  fre([uent  sufferers 
from  these  [)lundering  raids,  AVhile  returning,  IVIaloney  and  Hays 
were  attacked  by  Indians  on  White  liiver,  and  a  severe  engage- 
ment followed,  resulting,  as  reported,  in  the  death  of  one  regular, 
the  wounding  of  one  volunteer,  and  the  killing  of  forty  Indians. 
The  force  continued  its  retreat  to  Ft.  Steilacoom.  The  greatest 
alarm  prevailed  among  the  settlers  of  that  region.  They  hastened 
to  points  of  safety  with  their  faiiiilies,  and  built  stockades  and 
block-houses  for  their  protection.  Many  of  the  abandoned  cabins 
were  destroyed  by  the  Indians. 

This  was  the  condition  in  which  Governor  Stevens  found  things 
when  he  reached  Olymjiia  on  the  nineteenth  of  January.  Three 
days  later  he  issued  a  call  for  six  companies  of  volunteers  to  serve 
on  the  Sound,  and  three  companies  to  be  recruited  along  the  Co- 
lumbia for  service  east  of  the  mountains.  He  also  made  arrange- 
ments with  Captain  Gansevoort,  of  the  I'nited  States  steamer  Active^ 
to  cruise  on  the  Sound  l»elow  Seattle,  on  the  lookout  for  Northern 
Indians;  and  requested  Governor  ]>ouglas,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  to  keep  a  vessel  ci-uisiug  in  the  vicinity  of  Victoria,  and 
warn  him  of  the  approach  of  war  canoes.  A  few  days  later  the 
Indians  attacked  Seattle,  burned  and  destroyed  everything  in  King 
County,  except  Seattle  itself,  and  the  little  settlement  of  Alki. 
About  this  time  the  force  under  Colonel  Wright  ari'ived  from  San 
Francisco,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Casey  was  sent  to  Puget  Sound 
with  two  hundred  men.  The  organized  forces  on  the  Sound  were 
divided  into  three  battalions — "Northern,"  "Cintral"  and  "South- 
ern"— whi(di  established  separate  head(piarter>.  and  constructed  a 
chain  of  block-houses  from  Yelm  Prairie  to  Bellingham  Bay.  The 
central  position  of  the  regulars  was  at  Muckleshoot  Prairie.     The 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PUGET  SOUND  CAMPAIGNS.       427 

naval  forces  were  stationed  at  Seattle,  ami  were  commanded  at  this 
time  by  Cai)tain  Swai-twout.  Thus  was  the  Sound  guarded  while 
Governor  Stevens  was  making  prepai-atious  ior  an  invasion  of  the 
country  east  of  the  mountains.  A  return  to  the  Oregon  volunteers 
left  in  winter  camp  at  Walla  Walla  is  now  necessaiy. 

The  Oregon  troops  held  possession  of  the  Walla  Walla  country 
during  tlie  winter,  occasionally  moving,  for  convenience,  to  a  new 
camping  ground.  Though  the  route  to  The  Dalles  was  open  and 
comparatively  free  from  danger  of  attack  upon  trains  of  supplies, 
but  limited  (quantities  of  those  necessaries  reached  the  front.  The 
troops  depended  cliiefl}'  upon  meat,  i)rocured  by  killing  caj>tured 
stock,  and,  at  times,  b(nng  I'educed  to  an  uninviting  fare  of  horse 
meat.  The  officers  of  the  commissary  department  were  too  busy 
running  up  big  l)ills  of  ex[)ense  for  the  Government  to  pay,  to  give 
much  attention  to  the  suffering  men  in  the  field.  Warndy  clad  and 
bountifully  fed  at  The  Dalles,  how  coulil  they  be  expected  to  ap- 
preciate the  necessities  of  the  ragged  and  half -starved  v(jlunteers, 
bravely  enduring  the  rigors  of  winter  in  the  enemy's  country? 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Walla  Walla,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kelly 
proceeded  to  the  AVillamette  Valley  temporarily,  and  during  his 
absence  an  election  occurred  to  fill  the  vacancies  caused  by  the  res- 
ignation of  Colonel  Nesmith  and  Major  Arnisti'ong,  in  pursuance 
of  instructions  from  head(piarters.  This  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
Captain  Thomas  R.  Cornelius,  Colonel,  and  Ca[)tain  N.  A.  Cor- 
noyer,  Major.  About  the  middle  of  January  Governor  Cui'ry  issued 
a  proclamation  calling  for  five  companies — one  each  from  Linn, 
Marion,  Polk,  Yamhill,  and  Clackamas — to  take  the  place  of  those 
disbanded,  also  forty  men  to  ivcruit  Cornoyer's  company  of  scouts 
from  French  Prairie.  These  were  in  due  time  recruited,  mustered 
in,  and  marched  to  the  camp  at  Walla  AValla.  The  French  settlers 
and  friendly  Lidians  were  sent  to  The  Dalles,  and  on  the  tenth  of 
March  Colonel  Cornelius  marched  with  his  entire  command  in  search 
of  the  enemy.  In  two  days  they  reached  Snake  River  at  Fisli-hook 
Bend.  On  the  opposite  side  was  an  Indian  village,  whose  inhabi- 
tants, thinking  the  stream  could  nt)t  be  crossed,  were  very  insulting 
and  defiant,  until  the  most  demonstrative  one  was  laid  low  with  a 
bullet.  At  the  same  time  the  volunteers  launched  the  boats  they 
had  prepared,  and  the  savages  fled  in  terror.     They  were  pursued 


428 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


by  scouting  parties,  who  overtook  them  as  they  were  about  cross- 
ing the  Columbia  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yakima,  and  succeeded  in 
killing  one  of  them  and  capturing  some  horses.  On  the  fourteenth 
the  entire  command  moved  up  Palouse  and  Snake  rivers,  and  en- 
camped three  miles  above  tlie  falls.  Here  they  remained  several 
days  and  were  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  subsisting  upon  horse 
meat.  So  poorly  was  the  commissary  department  administered, 
that  even  in  their  winter  camp  they  had  l)een  for  weeks  at  a  time 
without  receiving  supplies;  and  now  that  they  were  on  the  move 
their  chances  for  being  fed  upon  regular  rations  were  much  less. 
A  few  days  of  Cayuse  diet  were  all  the  fresh  levies  could  stand. 
They  had  heard  of  some  of  the  privations,  including  the  ecpiine 
provender,  which  the  men  at  the  front  had  endured;  but  it  was  as 
a  "  tale  that  is  told,"  and  made  slight  impression  upon  their  minds. 
Here,  however,  was  the  actual  reality  exjjeiienced  in  their  own 
proper  persons,  and  the  impression  was  on  their  stomach  and  more 
vivid  and  lasting.  They  mutinied,  and  declared  an  intention  to 
march  back  to  The  Dalles  at  once.  They  were  told  of  the  disgrace 
of  turning  back  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  of  the  hardships  of  cold 
and  hunger  the  veterans  had  endured,  and  were  promised  a  remod- 
eling of  the  bill  of  fare  as  quickly  as  possible.  They  finally  con- 
sented to  give  the  commissary  department  one  day  of  grace,  and  be- 
fore that  time  expired  provisions  arrived  and  the  mutiny  was  at  an 
end.  The  command  marched  to  White  Bluifs,  on  the  Columbia, 
without  encountering  any  Indians.  On  the  sixth  of  April  they 
crossed  to  the  west  side  of  the  river  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yakima, 
and  followed  the  stream  down  to  a  point  opposite  Fort  Walla 
Walla.  Here  a  limited  amount  of  supplies  was  received,  and  the 
homeward  march  to  The  Dalles  was  taken  up  by  way  of  the 
Yakima  country. 

About  the  sixteenth  of  April,  the  force  reached  the  mouth  of 
Satas  Creek  on  the  Yakima  River,  and  went  into  camp.  A  divid- 
ing ridge  only  shut  out  from  them  a  view  of  the  valley  of  the  reser- 
vation, where  they  had  found  plenty  of  cattle  the  fall  before. 
Since  leaving  the  Palouse  Falls,  one-half  their  subsistence  had  been 
upon  horse  meat  and  they  yearned  for  the  fresh  meat  of  the 
Yakimas.  In  the  morning  Captain  Hembree,  with  five  or  six  men, 
croBsed  the  creek,  and  commenced  ascending  the  bluffs  to  the  north. 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA   AND  PUGET  SOUITD  CAMPAIGNS.       429 


He  was  going  a  short  distance  to  see  if  any  beef  cattle  could  be 
discovered,  and,  while  passing  to  the  right  of  a  hill,  the  volunteers 
in  camp  discovered  some  forty  loose  horses  galloping  around  the 
opposite  side  of  it  towards  him.  Suddenly,  as  those  hoi*ses  reached 
a  point  between  the  camp  and  the  Captain,  every  one  of  them  was 
found  to  have  an  Indian  rider  ;  and  the  next  instant,  with  a  savage 
yell,  the  \akiraas  charged  upon  the  little  squad  of  whites.  Cap- 
tain Hembree  fell  from  his  horse,  and  in  a  minute  was  scalped  and 
lifeless.  Two  of  the  assailants  were  shot  by  him  in  the  brief 
struggle,  and  another  was  killed  by  one  of  the  soldiers,  all  of  whom 
broke  through  the  lines  and  escaped.  The  Indians  carried  off  their 
dead,  but  afterwards  acknowledged  the  loss  of  two  braves  in  the 
death  struggle  with  the  white  chief.  Upon  the  instant  that  the 
attack  was  discovered  the  alarm  was  given  in  camp,  and  Major 
Cornoyer,  with  a  few  hststily  gathered  men,  dashed  across  to  the 
rescue.  They  had  hardly  started  when  tiring  was  commenced  on 
the  south  side  of  the  creek  by  the  Indians,  who  were  making  a 
general  move  to  8tamj)ede  the  soldiers'  horses.  Captain  Hembree 
was  found  stretched  upon  the  ground,  naked,  mutilated,  dead.  The 
effort  to  stampede  the  horses  failed,  and  the  Indians  disappeared 
as  suddenly  as  they  had  come.  That  day  Major  Cornoyer,  in  com- 
mand of  several  companies  of  the  regiment,  followed  the  enemy, 
and  an  engagement  ensued  that  resulted  in  driving  the  Indians 
from  their  fortified  stronghold,  and  the  killing  of  six  of  them  with 
no  loss  to  the  whites.  The  ensuing  day  saw  the  line  of  march  for 
The  Dalles  resumed  by  the  entire  force,  bearing  with  them  the 
body  of  the  gallant  Hembree.  Without  incident,  other  than  the 
killing  of  two  Indians  who  were  met  in  the  trail,  the  volunteers 
reached  Klickitat  Valley,  and  camped  to  recruit  their  stock,  and 
received  orders  for  mustering  out  of  service.  While  occupying 
this  camp,  April  28th,  a  band  of  some  fifty  hostiles  made  a  dash 
upon  the  grazing  stock  of  the  commauvi,  and  stampeding  them, 
captured  three  hundred  and  ninety  head  of  horses,  which  left  the 
Oregon  volunteers  dismounted.  The  regulars  at  The  Dalles  came 
to  their  assistance,  but  having  no  orders  to  pursue  the  enemy, 
Kama-i-akun  was  left  to  fall  back  slowly  to  the  north  unmolested. 
Thus  ended  the  campaign,  and  the  volunteers  who  had  so 
gallantly  fought  in  the  field   and   endured   uucomplaiaingly   so 


430 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


many  unnecessary  privations,  were  mustered  out,  with  the  excep- 
tion i»f  the  company  from  Clackamas,  and  found  their  way  home- 
ward without  even'  a  word  of  thanks  from  the  Governor,  at  whose 
call  they  had  h-ft  their  homes  and  business.  They  were  poorer  in 
purse,  poorer  in  ilt'sh  and  poorer  still  in  their  faith  in  humanity, 
but  they  had  gained  a  vast  finid  of  experience.  The  people, 
however,  were  more  generous  in  their  conduct.  The  citizens  of 
Yandiill  gave  a  grand  bampiet  to  the  volunteers  from  tliat  county, 
at  Lafayette,  on  ihe  fifteenth  of  May  ;  and  the  Washington  county 
troops  were  entertained  at  Hillsboro  on  the  thirty-first.  Governor 
Curry  called  for  two  companies  to  guard  the  south  side  of  the 
Columbia,  and  on  this  subject  the  Oregonian  remarked  : — 

None  of  those  in  the  field  were  willing  to  vohmteer  for  the  re((uired  service, 
showing  too  plainly  tliat  tlieir  previous  liardsliips  had  talien  from  them  uU  desire 
to  run  iiii.v  risk  l)y  u  second  campaign.  Colonel  Cornelius  and  his  command  have 
done  all  tliut  it  wa^  possible  to  do;  they  nobly  responded  to  the  call;  they  left  home 
when  their  services  were  needed  ;  they  endured  tlie  exposure  and  fatigue  of  a  cold, 
inclement  winter ;  they  were  left  (by  somebody)  to  i)rovision  themselves.  «  »  « 
Tliey  are  left  to  thank  themselves  for  the  imjwrtant  services  ren<lered  the  country. 
No  executive  otHcial  is  jiresent  to  welcome  them  back,  and,  in  the  name  of  the 
people,  thank  them  for  having  so  nobly  done  their  duty.  They  arrive  and  are 
mustered  out  like  so  many  heatlien. 

The  two  companies  were  raised  and  left  Portland  on  the  four- 
teenth of  June  for  The  Dalles,  commanded  by  Captains  Wilson  and 
Wilbur. 

The  mal-administration  of  affairs  in  the  commissary  department 
was  the  subject  of  much  controversy  at  the  end  of  the  campaign. 
Frequent  complaints  had  been  made  during  the  winter,  ])ut  the  fol- 
lowing somewhat  disconnected  and  incoherent,  but  easily  compre- 
hended, conununication,  sent  to  the  Oregonian  from  The  Dalles  on 
the  twenty-first  of  April  and  signed  "A  Horse-fed  Volunteer,"  wsis 
the  signal  for  a  war  of  words  and  printer's  ink: — 

It  hns  become  my  painful  duty  to  announce,  through  your  paper,  to  the  citizens 
of  the  Willamette,  the  treatment  the  volunteers  have  received,  and  tlieir  apprecia- 
tion of  the  same.  Six  months  ago  they  volunteered  in  good  faith,  to  fight  their 
country's  foe.  They  expected  to  meet  with  ordinary  hardships  and  privations,  but 
they  did  not  expect  to  starve,  to  eat  poor  old  niares  and^ colts.  «  ♦  »  our 
business  has  been  neglected,  on  account  of  which  we  have  sustained  heavy  losses, 
our  property  has  been  sold  to  pay  taxes,  and  all  by  the  well-wishers  of  the  Willam- 
ette; and  now,  when  discharges  are  called  for,  the  (governor  says  "The  country 
must  be  protected,"  and  that,  too,  by  us.  If  we  had  been  treated  as  we  should  have 
been,  we  would  willingly  remain  in  the  field  till  the  close  of  the  war.  }3ut  since 
the  congregated  wisdom  of  Oregon  Territory  convened  at  Salem,  decreed  that  a 


t^.nr-         -mwifet. 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA   AND  PUGET  SOUIJD  CAMPAIGNS.       481 


Cayiise  horse  was  worth  a»  much  as  a  volunteer  and  should  receive  the  same  pay ; 
notwlthstaudlnfj,  the  pack  mnsters,  last  winter,  would  load  them  down  to  the 
guards,  one-half  with  oats  mid  the  other  half  witli  whisky,  neither  of  whieh  ever 
reached  the  half-clad,  half  starved  volunteers,  and  (he  quarterinnster  jxilitely  pmm- 
Ises  to  pay  to  a  transcendentally  /xifriofic  Jew  $J4  00  per  dozen  for  hickory  shirts, 
which  cost  that  noble  man  from  ^3.")i>  to|4.(K);  the  volunteers  to  pay  $2  0)  for  each 
shirt.  Now  there  are  boys  here  who  have  the  lilood  of '"«  coursin;^  throuj?h  their 
veins  with  railroad  velocity,  who  say  the  country  must  and  shall  be  protected,  Init 
they  can  not,  and  will  not.  endure  such  treatment;  that  they  will  come  home  and 
take  the  desj)erate  chances  with  the  citizens,  at  least  till  they  can  settle  their  ac- 
counts and  outfit  themselves  for  a  new  campaign,  not  being  willing  to  trust  to  the 
Departments  for  the  same. 

The  discussion  was  v(n'y  warm  and  was  conducted  on  a  political 
basis.  Early  in  the  campaign,  the  previous  Novenil)cr,  the  acute 
sense  of  propriety  possessed  by  Mr.  Busli,  editor  of  the  Statesman, 
and  other  leaders  of  tlu^  Democracy,  wassJiock(^d  by  the  knowledge 
tliat  a  few  Wliigs  and  Know-nothings  held  positions  in  the  army. 
There  was  a  loud  outcry  at  this  infringement  of  the  undisputed 
right  of  the  party  in  [)(»ssession  of  the  governm<;;nt  to  hold  all  the 
offices  and  enjoy  all  the  emolinnents  and  pei'fiuisites.  Spirited 
conununications  apjuared  in  th(^  Statesman,  in  which  the  nK>tto, 
"To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,"  was  frequently  quoted  as  hav- 
ing the  authority  of  law  and  the  gos[)el.  A.  M.  Belt,  Surgeon 
Genei'al,  was  specially  singled  out  for  attack,  and  the  (jrovernor  was 
informed  that  coniftetent  surgeons  were  to  be  found  in  the  Demo- 
cratic ranks.  Finally,  a  petition  was  circulated  through  the  Valley, 
which  received  so  many  signatures  that  the  Governor  did  not  dare 
to  longer  remain  unmindful  of  the  wishes  of  his  political  support- 
ers. A  clean  sweep  wjis  made  in  evtsry  office  occupied  by  a  Whig 
where  the  executive  possessed  the  appointing  power,  from  the  ob- 
noxious Surgeon  to  the  officers  and  clerks  in  the  commissary  de- 
partment, contractors,  and  mule  drivers,  and  a  good  Democrat  given 
the  position.  This  done,  they  dee[)ly  lamented  the  fact  that  many 
of  the  commissioned  officers  in  the  field  were  Whigs,  but,  being 
eleot^ed  to  their  positions,  (toidd  not  be  removed  except  for  cause. 
Too  much  attention  was  paid  to  politics  and  securing  the  spoils,  to 
provide  for  the  wants  of  the  men  in  the  field.  When  the  contro- 
versy arose  the  officers  at  The  Dalles  reported  to  the  Governor  that 
there  had  always  been  an  ample  .supply  of  provisions  on  hand,  but 
that  they  could  get  no  escorts  for  their  safe  transportation  to  the 
frout.     This  Colonel  Cornelius  denied,  and  demanded  a  eouit  of 


432 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


inquiry,  which  Governor  Curry  declined  to  order,  taking  care  in 
his  letter  of  refusal  to  state  that  the  failure  of  supi)lie8  could  not  be 
attributed  to  any  fault  or  carelessness  of  Colonel  Cornelius,  and  to 
highly  compliment  him  for  his  conduct  during  the  campaign.  Thus 
the  officer  was  molliiied  and  the  dangerous  breakers  of  an  investi- 
gation were  avoided.  Governor  Curry  then  sailed  for  the  East  to 
look  after  an  appropriation  by  Congress  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
his  war.  The  subject  had  already  come  up,  and  General  Wool's 
report,  the  character  of  which  can  be  surmised  fi-om  his  previous 
conduct  and  expressed  opinions,  had  caused  the  National  Legisla- 
ture to  refuse  to  appropriate  anything  whatever. 


•i,*        !>   I..;     ■     ,'         ,. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

CLOSING  SCENES  OF  THE  WAR  ON  ROGUE  RIVER. 

Reorganisation  of  the  Volunteers — Appointment  oj"  General  Lameiich — 
Removal  of  the  Table  Rock  Band  to  the  Coant  Reservatioih — The 
Flag  of  T'ruce  Incident — Battle  of  Eight-Dollar  Mountain — Cam- 
paign to  Big  Meadoios — Battle  at  the  Bar — Fort  Lamerick  Built 
in  Big  Meadows — Massacre  at  Gold  Beach — The  Regulars  Assume 
the  Offensive — They  Chastise  the  Indians  at  Different  Places — Coun- 
cil of  <>ak  Flat — Battle  between  Chief  John  and  Captain  Smith — 
The  Volunteers  drfeat  Liinpij  and  George — All  the  llostilei  iSurren- 
der  and  are  Taken  to  the  Coast  Reservation. 


DUKING  the  winter  of  1855-6  there  was  no  fighting  in  South- 
ern Oregon.  The  volunteers  lay  all  winter  statioued  at  all 
the  strategical  points  for  the  protection  of  the  settlements  from  raids 
by  the  Indians,  who  remained  secluded  in  the  mountains.  The  ab- 
surdity of  having  two  battalions  with  inde|)endent  commanders  was 
soon  recognize;!,  and  on  the  seventii  of  December  thev  were  united 
and  regimental  officers  elected.  R(ibert  L.  Williams  was  chosen 
Colonel,  W.  J.  Martin,  Lieutenant-Ct)lonel,  and  James  Bruce,  Major. 
The  regiment,  which  was  designated  the  "  Second  Regiment  of 
Oregon  Mounted  Volunteei-s,"  consisted  of  the  coni[)anies  of  Cap- 
tains Bailey,  Buoy,  Keeney,  Rice,  O'Neal,  Wilkinson,  Alcorn,  Gor- 
don, Chapman,  and  Bledsoe,  aggregating  on  paper  nine  hundred 
and  one  rank  and  file,  the  effective  force  being  inuclj  less.  In  Feb- 
ruary Major  Bruce  and  Captains  O'Neal,  Rice,  Alcorn  and  Wilkin- 
son preferred  charges  against  Colonel  Williams,  alleging  intentional 
inactivity,  etc.  They  were  based  upon  the  connection  Colonel 
Williams  was  supposed  to  have  with  a  clique  of  speculators,  whose 
pecuniary  interests  lay  in  the  direction  of  an  indefinite  prolongation 
of  the  wax.     The  same  speculative  and  politicaJ  complications  ex- 


484 


HI6T0HT  OJ   WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


isted  here  as  we  have  seeu  were  so  prcKluetive  of  harm  in  the  oper- 
ations along  tlie  Colutnljia,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  refer  to  theji 
in  detail.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  war  was  declared  a  "  God- 
send "  by  those  who  were  of  the  ruling  political  faith  and  had  any 
hold  upon  the  Government;  and  the  consequence  was,  that  more 
than  one  man  of  influence  would  have  been  sorry  to  see  it  ter- 
minated too  (juickly.  The  outcome  of  the  charges  was  the  ap})()int- 
ment  of  J.  K.  Lamerick  as  Brigadier-General  \o  take  supreme  com- 
mand »>f  the  forces,  Colonel  Williams  being  thus  relieved  of  the 
responsibility,  though  retaining  his  command.  In  Fel>ruary  two- 
thirds  of  the  men  received  their  discharge,  and  new  companies  were 
enlisted,  commanded  by  O'Neal,  Sheffield,  George,  Bushey,  M.  M. 
Williams,  Wallan,  Robertson,  and  Barnes.  The  companies  were 
composed  chiefly  of  discharged  men,  who  re-enlisted  almost  unani- 
mously. On  the  eighteenth  of  March  regimental  officers  were 
elected,  John  Kelsey  becoming  Colonel,  W.  W.  Chapman,  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, and  James  Bruce  and  W.  L.  Latshaw,  Majors  of  the 
two  battalions. 

Subsequent  to  the  events  just  detailed,  a  transaction  of  con- 
siderable importance  took  place.  This  was  the  removal  of  Chief 
Sam's  baud  to  the  reservation  west  of  the  Willamette  Valley.  The 
Table  Rock  band  took  no  part  in  the  massacre  of  the  ninth  of 
October.  On  the  contrary,  the  members  of  that  band  crossed  the 
river  to  Fort  Lane,  and  besought  the  protection  of  Captain  Smith 
from  the  violence  of  the  white  settlere,  which,  but  foi-  such  protec- 
tion, would  surely  have  befallen  them.  During  the  succeeding 
months  they  remained  under  the  immediate  care  of  Captain  Smith 
and  Agent  Ambrose,  and  gave  not  the  remotest  cause  for  8Us[)icion 
on  the  part  of  the  whites.  Finally,  when  the  Bureau  of  Indian 
Affairs  decided  to  remove  all  the  natives  from  Southern  Oreg<m, 
the  Table  Rock  band  was  sent  to  the  permanent  reservation  about 
Yaquina  Bay.  Such  was  the  state  of  public  sentiment  that  a 
guard  of  one  hundred  soldiers  was  deemed  necessary  in  order  to 
protect  them  on  their  progress  northward.  And  this,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  by  their  friendship  for  the  whites,  they  had 
incurred  the  enmity  of  all  the  hostile  Indians  on  Rogue  River. 
The  people  of  the  Willamette  Valley,  jealous  of  the  removal  of 
warriors  into  their    neighborhood,  and  scarce  undei'standing  the 


MM^m^^ff'^ww 


m^fH 


CL08INO  SCENES  OP  THE  WAR  ON  ROOrE  niVER. 


m 


situation  of  affairs,  hpM  public  meetings  to  consider  the  question  of 
raising  an  armed  force  to  resist  their  coming ;  but  the  excitement 
soon  calmed,  and  the  Indians  found  a  final  home  by  the  shores  of 
the  Pacific.  A  few  days  later — about  th(i  middle  of  February, 
Chiefs  Linipy  and  George,  with  thirty  mounted  warriors,  went  to 
Fort  Lane  with  a  flag  of  truce,  desiring  to  have  a  talk  and  secure 
possession  of  some  squaws.  As  soon  as  their  pi'esence  was  known, 
there  was  great  excitement,  and  the  volunteers  prepared  to  attack 
them.  Thoy  were,  however,  notified  by  Captain  Smith  that  he 
recognized  the  flag  of  truce  and  would  guard  its  sanctity  ;  and  the 
result  was  the  warriors  were  permitted  to  depart  in  safety.  The 
indignation  of  the  people  was  intense,  and  the  regular  army,  from 
Genei-al  Wool  and  Captain  Smith  down  to  the  sutler,  was  anathe- 
matized. The  ^SV«//W/ discharged  fiery  editoi'ials,  similar  to  those 
the  Oregonian  was  about  the  same  time  directing  at  General  Wool, 
and  with  no  better  residt.  All  this  abuse  of  the  regular  army  be- 
cause its  commanders  insisted  upon  tlischarging  their  full  duty  and 
not  being  governed  in  tlieir  conduct  by  passion,  prejudice  or 
speculation,  served  only  to  delay  and  reduce  the  amount  of  Govern- 
ment appropriations  for  the  exp  mses  of  the  war,  and  proved  very 
costly  indeed  for  the  contractors. 

Hostilities  began  in  earnest  towards  the  end  of  March.  On  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-fourth  word  was  received  at  the  headtpiarters 
of  General  Lamerick,  at  Vannoy's  Ferry,  that  two  men  had  been 
killed  while  in  camp  at  the  base  of  Eight-Dollar  Mountain,  and 
another  man  mortally  wounded  in  the  same  vicinity.  Captain 
Hugh  O'Neal  hastened  with  his  company  to  Fort  Hays,  where  was 
but  a  small  garrison,  and  arrived  just  in  time  to  be  driven  into  the 
fort  with  the  loss  of  one  man.  The  Indians  besieged  the  fort  till 
morning,  and  then  retired  southward,  capturing  a  pack  train,  and 
killing  one  man  and  wounding  another.  Here  they  were  overtaken 
by  Major  Bruce  at  the  head  of  several  companies.  The  foremost 
of  these  engaged  the  enemy  while  yet  the  remainder  were  dis- 
mounting. All  horses  were  left  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  which  it 
was  necessaiy  to  ascend  to  find  the  enemy ;  and  a  long  I'ne  of 
battle,  reaching  several  hundred  yards  along  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain, was  formed,  and  the  troops  advanced  up  the  rise.  The  battle 
was  a  lively  one  ;  the  rattle  of  rifles  and  revolvers  was  almost  con- 


486 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLKT. 


tiuuous,  and  frequent  attempts  were  made  by  each  party  to  charge 
the  other.  All  sought  cover,  and  there  was  little  chance  for  life 
for  the  man  who  neglected  thus  to  protect  himself.  At  this  inter- 
esting juncture  a  shout  was  raised  that  the  Indians  were  making 
off  with  the  horses,  left  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  A  number  of  the 
savages,  spying  the  condition  of  affairs  ran  tastily  to  the  npot  and 
mounting  some  and  le»iling  others,  escaped  with  some  fifteen  of 
the  animals  belonging  to  Abel  George's  Yi'eka  company.  The 
most  of  the  fighting  for  a  time  was  done  by  M.  M.  WiUiams  and 
about  a  score  of  his  ])ravest  men,  who  stood  their  ground  valiantly, 
and  only  retreated  when  the  Indians  had  nearly  or  (piite  surrounded 
them.  Alcorn's  men  and  othei-s  fought  well,  also,  but  a  gi-eat 
many  either  ran  away  during  the  fight,  or  else  could  not  be  brought 
into  it  at  all.  Over  two  hundred  men  were  within  sound  of  the 
firing,  but  not  one-half  that  number  took  any  part  in  the  fight,  and 
probably  not  over  fifty  engaged  in  it  with  energy  and  resolution. 
A  hundred  or  more  Indians  held  with  determination  the  hill  and 
the  thick  woods,  and  successfully  barred  the  way.  Against  this 
force  the  volunteers  effected  nothing.  They  soon  began  to  retiry, 
and  gaining  the  base  of  the  hill,  mounted  and  returned  to  Fort 
Hays,  hardly  yet  sensible  of  a  defeat.  The  Indians  withdrew  in 
their  characteristic  manner,  and  the  battle  of  EiglitD(^llar  Moun- 
tain was  ended. 

Early  in  April,  General  Lamerick  determined  upon  a  rampaign 
to  Big  Meadows,  the  rendezvous  of  the  hostiles.  Tli.  Southern 
Battalion,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Chajmian  and  Major  Bruce, 
started  on  the  fourteenth  of  April  and  mairhed  down  the  south 
side  of  Rogue  River,  halting  at  Peavine  Mountain  On  the  sev- 
enteenth, Colonel  Kelsey  and  Major  Latshaw  march('<l  from  Fort 
Leland,  on  Grave  Creek,  with  the  ^'orthern  Battalion,  and  pro- 
ceexied  to  the  Little  Meadows  of  Rogue  River,  some  twelve  miles 
from  the  camp  of  the  other  battalion.  Chapman  and  Bruce  then 
joined  him,  raising  the  force  to  five  hundred  and  thirty-five  men. 
They  camped  two  miles  north  of  tlie  river,  on  a  high  terrace,  a 
breastwork  of  pine  logs  enclosing  the  encampment.  Scouts  located 
the  Indian  "amp  on  a  large  '»ar  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  and 
three  miles  further  down.  Several  days  were  spent  in  reconnoiter- 
ing,  and  then  it  was  decided  to  make  an  attack.     General  Lame- 


CLOSING  ar.CVlT.H  OF  THE  WAR  ON   ROGUE  RIVER. 


487 


rick  ordered  Maj<M'  iJiucc  to  cross  the  river  and  cut  off  the  retreat 
of  the  Indinns,  while  Colonel  Kelsey  was  to  move  on  the  north  side 
until  dii'ectly  opposite  the  camp,  and  then  attack  it  from  across  the 
stream.  Hoth  detaclinicnts  started  out  to  execute  thcvse  orders,  but 
when  tilt'  liver  wa*i  reached  Bruce 's  men  refused  to  cross  in  the  two 
canvas  lioats  bi'ought  f<>r  that  purpose.  This  is  a  fair  example  of 
the  difficulties  the  officers  had  to  contend  with.  Every  volunteer 
thought  himself  as  good  as  his  superior  officers,  and  refused  to  obey 
all  orders  he  did  not  deem  judicious.  Under  such  circumstances 
it  is  no  wonder  so  large  a  force  accomplished  so  little. 

Major  Bruce  being  thus  compelled  to  remain  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river,  concluded  to  move  down  .stream  and  join  Colonel  Kel- 
sey at  the  1)ar.  Meanwhile,  this  commander  had  reached  a  point 
on  the  <leclivity  nearly  op|>osite  his  objective  point,  and  started  di- 
rectly down  hill,  following  a  ridge  which  afforded  comparatively 
little  oV)stru<'ti()n  to  his  advance.  The  detachment  was  formed  in 
line  of  battle,  and  rushed  down  and  took  position  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  facing  the  Indian  encampment  on  the  bar,  and  opened  a 
brisk  fire  upon  the  enemy.  The  savages  were  thrown  into  confu- 
sion by  tiie  sudden  attack,  and  did  not  return  the  fire  for  some  time. 
The  women  and  children,  the  formei'  carrying  heavy  pa<;ks,  soon 
left  the  camp  and  passed  up  the  hill  toward  the  Illinois  River, 
while  a  gi'eater  part  of  the  males  sought  shelter  in  the  edge  of  the 
fir  woods  behind  their  encampment,  and  watdied  the  movements  of 
the  whites.  Major  Bruce  arriv^^d  with  his  command,  and  taking  a 
position  on  the  left,  began  firing  at  the  enemy,  who,  however,  were 
in  positions  of  comparative  safety.  Desultory  and  ineffectual  firing 
was  kej>t  up  all  day,  but  no  means  of  crossing  the  river  being  at 
hand,  nothing  could  be  done  to  complete  the  victory.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  (juite  a  number  of  Indians  w«>re  killed,  while  the  only 
loHH  to  the  whites  was  the  mortal  wounding  of  Elias  Mercer,  and 
the  severe  wounding  of  John  Ib'iiry  (Mifl  .  In  the  evening  the 
whole  force  went  into  camp  at  the  Big  Meadows,  six  miles  below 
the  forn.'M'  camp.  On  the  follow  ing  morning  Colonel  Kelsey  and 
Major  Latshaw^  w^ith  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  went  to  a  point  on 
the  river  two  miles  l>elo\v  the  bar,  with  the  expectation  of  cro-ssing 
to  the  south  side.  At  the  same  time  Lieutenant-Cohmel  Chapman 
with  one  hundred  men   marched  to  the  liattle-grouud  of  the  pre- 


438 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


vious)  day  to  engage  the  enemy  if  still  there.  The  former  found 
Indians  scattered  along  the  shore,  who  showed  fight,  consequently 
the  detachment  did  not  cross.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Chapman  found 
no  Indians  at  the  bar,  and  returned.  Major  Bruce  had  gone  in 
another  direction  with  one  hundred  men,  and  he  also  retnined  with- 
out having  accomplished  anything.  On  the  twenty-ninth  the  regi- 
ment encamped  on  the  bar  from  which  the  Indians  had  been  driven. 
Scouts  soon  ascertained  that  the  Indians  had  abandoned  that  region, 
and  it  being  impracticable  to  follow  them,  the  regiment  broke  camp 
on  the  first  of  May,  Ive  companies  taking  permanent  station  in  Big 
Meadows,  which  was  called  "  Fort  Lamerick,"  and  the  others  re- 
turning to  Fort  Leland.  The  chief  accomplishment  of  this  cam- 
paign was  to  add  greatly  to  the  bill  for  supplies  which  the  con- 
tractoi-s  were  running  up  against  the  day  of  settlement. 

In  the  Spring  of  185G  a  new  complication  was  introduced  into 
the  troubles  in  Southern  Oregon.  The  Indians  of  the  coast  had 
remained  peaceful,  though  those  living  at  and  below  the  mouth  of 
Rogue  River  were  urgently  solicited  to  join  the  hostiles.  Their 
relations  with  the  settlei-s  and  miners  had  been  none  too  pleasant 
for  a  year  past,  and  several  incidents  had  occurred  to  intensify  the 
natural  feeling  of  race  antagonism.  Ben  Wright,  of  Modoc  fame, 
was  the  agent  in  charge  of  the  Indians  in  that  region,  having  his 
residence  at  Gold  Beach  at  the  mouth  of  Rogue  River.  At  Port 
Orford,  thirty  miles  north,  was  a  military  post  known  as  "Fort 
Orford,"  and  garrisoned  by  Captain  Reynolds'  company  of  the  lUl 
Artillery.  During  the  winter,  and  at  the  instance  of  Agent  Wright, 
a  volunteer  company  of  thirty-three  men,  under  Captain  John  Po- 
land, occupied  a  strongly  fortified  post  at  Big  Bend,  some  fifteen 
miles  up  the  river,  wliere  they  served  to  separate  the  hostiles  from 
the  Indians  below.  About  the  first  of  February  they  abandoned 
this  post  and  returned  to  Gold  Beach.  Wright,  observing  the  grow- 
ing discontent  of  the  natives,  put  forth  every  effort  to  induce  them 
to  go  to  the  temporary  reservation  at  Port  Orford,  where  they  would 
be  safe  from  the  attack  of  ill-disposed  whites  and  the  solicitations 
of  hostile  Indians.  It  has  always  been  supposed  that  it  vvas  owing 
to  the  intriguing  of  one  man  that  this  effect  was  not  brought  about. 
This  man  was  an  Indian  of  some  eastern  tribe — Canadian,  it  was 
said — and  had  been  with  Fremont  on  his  last  expedition  ten  years 


CLOSING  SCRNKS  OF  THE  WAK  OJJ   ROGUE  RIVEB. 


43y 


before.  Enos,  called  by  the  Indians  "Acnes,"  had  become  a  con- 
fidant of  \N^ip:ht's  to  thr  extent  of  knowing  his  plans  for  the  peace- 
ful subjugation  ot  the  Indians.  Enos  laid  with  the  braves  a  far- 
reaching  [)l!in  to  destroy  utterly  the  small  colony  of  whites;  and 
this  done,  tt>  join  the  V)ands  of  savages  who  were  waging  war,  and 
to  defeat  and  drive  from  the  country  the  invadere  who  so  harrowed 
the  Indian  soul. 

The  first  step  in  Enos'  portentous  plan  was  to  slaughter  Wright 
and  the  settlers  along  the  coast.  On  the  evening  of  February  22, 
having  completed  his  arrangements,  Enos,  with  a  sufficient  force  of 
his  Indians,  fell  upon  the  scattered  settlement  at  the  south  side  of 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  finding  Agent  Wright  alone  in  his 
cabin,  entertKl  it  seen,  but  unsuspected,  by  him,  and  with  an  axe  or 
club  slaughtered  this  hero  of  a  liundred  bloody  fighta.  So  died, 
perlia[)s,  the  greatest  of  Indian  fighters  whom  this  Coast  ever  knew. 
Concluding  this  villainy,  the  Indians  sought  new  victims,  and  dur- 
ing the  night  killed  mercilessly,  with  shot  or  blows,  twenty-four  or 
twenty-five  persons,  of  whom  the  list  is  here  presented  as  given  by 
various  authorities:  Captain  Ben  Wright,  Captain  John  Poland, 
John  Geisel  and  three  children,  Joseph  tSeroc  and  two  children,  J. 
H.  Braun,  E.  W.  Howe,  Barney  Castle,  George  McClusky,  Patrick 
McCollough,  Samuel  Hendrick,  W.  li.  TuUus,  Joseph  Wagoner, 

Seaman,  Lorenzo  Warner,  George  Reed,  John  Idles,  Martin 

Reed,  Henry  Lawrence,  Guy  C.  Holcomb,  and  Joseph  Wilkinson. 
Mrs.  Geisel  and  hei-  remaining  children,  Mary  and  Annie,  were 
taken  prisoners.  Aftt'r  suffering  the  worst  of  hardships  at  the 
hands  of  the  Indians,  they  were  delivered  from  them  at  a  later  date, 
and  now  live  to  recount  with  tears  the  story  of  their  bereavement 
and  captivity.  A  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  had  gathered  on 
that  fateful  night  at  Big  Flat  to  attend  a  dance  given  there,  and  so 
failed  of  death;  and  on  the  morrow  these  .set  out  for  the  village,  and 
on  arriving  there  found  tin;  fearful  renuiins  of  the  butchery.  The 
corpses  were  burietl;  and  the  remaining  population,  numlxjring, 
perhaps,  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  scantily  supplied  with  fire- 
arms and  ])rovisions,  sought  jtrotection  in  a  fort  which  had  been 
constructeil  in  anticipation  of  such  need.  Here  the  survivors  gath- 
ered and  for  a  time  sustained  a  state  of  siege  with  the  added  horroi-s 
of  a  possible  death  by  starvation.     Theii-  only  communication  from 


440 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


without  was  by  means  of  two  small  coastim*  schooners  which  made 
occasional  trips  to  Port  Orford  or  Crescent  City.  The  Indians  sur- 
rounded them  and  commanded  every  apjjroach  by  land.  Meantime, 
the  savages  were  not  iille.  Every  dwelling  and  every  piece  of 
property  of  whatever  ilesci'i[)tion  that  fire  could  touch  was  desti'oyed. 
The  country  was  devastated,  and,  lieside  the  fort  besii^gcd,  only  the 
station  of  Port  Orford  remained  uihabited.  The  buildings  at  Gold 
Beach  were  all  burned,  and  an  estimate  of  the  [)r()j)t'rty  destroyed 
along  the  coast  fixes  the  danuige  at  8r_'.">,00().  Subsecjucnt  to  the 
first  attack  a  nuud«er  of  other  persons  were  killed  by  the  Indians, 
these  being  Henry  Bullen,  L.  AV.  Oliver,  Danitl  Richardson,  Adolf 
Schmoldt,  Oliver  Cantwell,  Ste|)hen  Taylor,  and  George  Ti-ickey. 
By  an  unhappy  chance  H,  I.  Gcrow,  merchant;  John  O'Brien,  miner; 
Sylvester  Long,  farmer;  William  Thompson  and  Richard  Gay,  boat- 
men, and  Felix  McCue,  were  drowned  in  the  breakers  opposite  the 
fort  while  bringing  j:M  and  pro\  isions  from  Port  Orford.  Captain 
Davis  and  Henr}-  Defremany  succeeded  in  swimming  ashore  and 
reaching  the  fort. 

Messengers  from  the  beleaguered  settlers  succeeded  in  reaching 
Port  Oi'ford  and  Crescent  City.  At  the  former  place.  Captain 
Reynolds,  who  only  had  twenty-six  men,  did  not  dare  go  to 
their  aid  and  leave  the  place  uni)rotected.  The  unfortunate  party 
mentioned  above  at  once  started  witii  provisions  to  their  relief.  At 
Crescent  City  was  Captain  Jones  with  a  company  of  regulars,  who, 
as  he  was  under  marching  orders  from  (leneral  Wool  for  a  concerted 
movement  of  all  the  troops  against  the  hostiles,  was  not  at  liberty 
to  go  to  the  relief  of  the  settlers  at  (iold  Beach.  The  volunteers 
in  Rogue  River  Valley,  whin  appealed  to,  also  declined  to  go, 
alleging  a  fear  of  leaving  the  settlements  exposed.  A  company  of 
volunteers  was  formed  at  Crescent  City,  connnanded  by  Captain 
G.  H.  Abbott.  On  the  eighth  of  March  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Buchanan  arrived  at  Crescent  City  from  San  Francisco  with  a 
company  of  regulars  under  Ca[)tain  E.  O.  C.  Ord,  afterwards 
Major-General,  and  with  Jones'  regulars  and  Abbott's  volunteers, 
marched  northward.  Abbott  was  some  distance  in  advance,  and 
encountered  the  Chetco  and  Pistol  River  Indians,  losing  one  man 
and  having  several  wounded.  When  the  regulars  arrived,  and 
rescued  them,  they  were  surrouuded  by  Indians  and  sheltered  be- 


CLOSING  SCENES  OF  THE  WAR  ON  ROGUE  RIVER. 


441 


hind  logs  on  the  beach.  The  whole  force  remained  in  the  vicinity 
a  few  days,  until  they  had  severely  chastised  tiie  savages  and 
destroyed  their  village. 

On  the  twentieth  of  March  Lieutenant-Colonel  Buchanan 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Rogue  River,  having  left  Ca[)tain  Abbott 
at  Pistol  River  to  keep  open  communications  with  Crescent  City, 
the  base  of  supplies.  Operations  began  by  an  assault  upt)n  the 
Makanootenai  ranchcria,  about  ten  miles  up-stream  and  four  or  six 
below  Big  Beml.  Captains  Ord  and  Jones  took  the  town,  killing 
several  Indians  and  driving  tlie  rest  to  their  canoes.  One  man, 
Sergeant  Nash,  was  severely  wounded.  A  few  days  later  Ca})tain 
(now  General)  Augur,  with  a  small  detachment,  reached  the  mouth 
of  Illinois  River  and  found  some  ten  or  twelve  Indians  belonging  to 
John  or  Limpy's  band,  and  fough*  them.  The  Indians  strove  des- 
perately and  live  of  them  fell  deail  before  the  conflict  was  decided. 
Captain  iVugnr,  after  the  tight,  found  it  necessary  to  return  toward 
Gold  Beach.  Captain  Smith  set  out  from  Fort  Lane  al)out  this 
time  with  eighty  men — fifty  dragoons  and  thirty  infantrymen.  All 
went  on  foot,  and  marclied  down  Rogue  River,  up  Slate  Creek  to 
Hays'  farm,  from  thence  to  D('er  Creek  anil  thence  down  Illinois 
River  to  the  Rogue,  and  encamped  a  few  miles  further  down  that 
stream,  having  come  to  their  destination. 

Negotiations  had  been  in  progress  for  a  few  days,  thanks  to  the 
exertions  of  Superintendent  Palmer,  and  it  was  hoped  that  an 
agreement  would  be  reached  with  the  Coast  Indians,  who  were  now 
much  scattered.  Enos,  with  quite  a  nundjer  of  his  followers,  had 
joined  the  up-river  bands,  who  were  lying  on  the  river  above  the 
Big  Bend.  Others  had  gone  to  Port  Orford  and  placed  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  the  military.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of 
March  a  party  of  i-egulars  were  fired  upon  from  the  brush  while 
proceeding  down  the  banks  of  the  Rogue,  whereupon  they  charged 
their  assailants  and  killed  eight  or  ten,  with  a  loss  to  themselves  of 
two  wounded.  On  April  1st,  Captain  Creighton,  with  a  company 
of  citizens,  attacked  an  Indian  village  near  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
quille  River,  killing  nine  men,  wounding  eleven  and  taking  forty 
squaws  and  chihlren  prisoners.  These  Indians  had  been  under  the 
care  of  the  Government  authorities  at  Port  Orford  until  a  few  days 
before  the  light,  and  hud  left  that  place  because  some  meddlesome 


442 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


whites  had  represented  to  them  that  it  was  the  soldiers'  intention 
to  kill  them.  A  party  of  volunteers  intercepted  several  canoe 
loads  of  Indians  near  the  mouth  of  Rogue  River  and  killed  eleven 
males  and  one  squaw  ;  one  male  and  two  squaws  only  escaped. 
On  the  twenty-ninth  of  April  a  party  of  sixty  regulars,  con- 
voying a  pack-train,  were  attacked  near  Chetco  by  the  remnant 
of  the  band  of  savages  of  that  name,  supposed  to  number  about 
sixty,  but  probably  less,  and  two  or  three  soldiers  were  killed  or 
wounded.  The  battle  ended  by  the  defeat  of  the  natives,  who  lost 
six  braves  killed,  and  several  wounded.  In  the  month  of  April 
three  volunteer  companies  opei'ated  on  the  coast,  and  did  much 
service  in  spite  of  their  being  badly  armed  and  equipped.  These 
were  the  Gold  Beach  Guards,  the  Coquille  Guards  and  the  Port 
Orford  Minute  Men. 

Besides  tne  regulars  who  were  now  hemming  in  the  savages  and 
cutting  them  off  from  all  avenues  of  escape  from  the  mountain 
fastnesses  in  which  they  had  been  so  secure,  the  volunteers  played 
an  important  part.  Fort  Lamerick  had  been  built  at  Big  Meadows 
by  Major  Bruce,  who  occupied  it  with  a  force  of  two  hundred  men, 
and  was  later  reinforced  by  the  entire  body  of  volunteers.  General 
Lamerick  being  present  and  in  command.  Hemmed  in  on  all 
sides,  without  resources  and  with  no  hope  of  assistance,  the  liostiles 
began  to  feel  their  inability  to  cope  with  the  forces  now  operating 
against  them. 

On  the  twenty- first  and  twenty-second  of  May,  Superintendent 
Palmer  and  Colonel  Buchanan  held  a  conference  with  the  Indians. 
This  is  officially  known  as  the  "  Council  of  Oak  Flat,"  the  locality 
being  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Illinois  River,  some  three  miles 
above  its  mouth.  Nearly  all  the  regular  troops  were  present, 
amountinsf  to  about  two  hundred.  Almost  all  the  liostiles  were 
present,  and  most  of  them  agreed  to  surrender  on  a  certain  day. 
Not  so,  however,  with  Chief  John.  This  undaunted  chieftain  said 
to  Colonel  Buchanan  :  "  You  are  a  great  chief ;  so  am  I  a  great 
ciiief  ;  this  is  my  country  ;  I  was  in  it  when  these  ti'ees  were  very 
little,  not  higher  than  my  head.  My  heart  is  sick  fighting  the 
whites,  but  I  want  to  live  in  my  country,  I  will  not  go  out  of  my 
country.  I  will,  if  the  whites  are  willing,  go  back  to  the  Deer 
Creek  country  and  live  as  I  used  to  do  among  the  whites  ;  they  cau 


CLOSING  SCENES  OF  THE  WAR  ON  ROGUE  RIVER. 


443 


visit  my  camp  and  I  will  visit  theirs  ;  but  I  will  not  lay  clown  my 
arms  and  go  to  the  reserve.     I  will  tight.     Good  bye." 

Tilt  result  of  thi^  negotiations  Wius  the  agreement  of  a  great 
many  Indians,  notably  the  Coast  bands,  to  give  up  their  arms. 
On  or  bi'f*)re  the  twenty-sixth  of  May  they  were  to  assemble  at  the 
Big  Meadows,  several  miles  from  the  Big  Meadows  occuj)ied  by 
the  volunteers,  and  be  escorted  thence  to  Port  Oi-ford.  Ord's  com- 
pany had  been  sent  to  Port  Orford  to  escort  a  ]>rovision  train  to 
the  command  at  Oak  Flat.  Reynolds'  company  was  sent  out  to 
meet  the  same  train,  as  its  safety  was  very  imp  )rtant.  On  the 
twenty-fourth  Captain  Smith  left  Oak  Flat  with  his  eighty  dra- 
goons anil  infantrymen  to  proceed  to  Big  Meadows  and  perform 
escort  duty  when  the  Indians  surrendered.  He  encamped  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  near  the  place  fixed  upon  for  the  surrender. 
On  the  twenty-fifth  the  chief  in  command  moved  down  the  Illinois, 
and  leaving  Jones'  company  at  its  mouth,  went  across  the  Rogue 
with  Augur's  company,  and  set  aliout  opening  a  trail  for  the 
passage  of  the  surrendei-ed  Indians  with  their  guard,  who  were 
expected  the  next  day.  On  the  evening  of  May  twenty-sixth 
Colonel  Buchanan  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  tome  few 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  ;  Captain  Ord  was  about  ten 
miles  west  of  Oak  Flat,  with  the  train  ;  Jones  was  at  the  month  of 
the  Illinois  ;  Reynolds  about  ten  miles  below  that  point,  on  the 
Port  Orford  trail  ;  Smith  at  Big  Meadows  ;  anil  the  main  body  of 
the  Indians  were  on  the  bank  of  the  Rogue,  about  five  miles  above 
Smith.  The  twenty-sixth  passed  and  no  Indians  came  in,  but 
Smith  was  informed  that  they  were  delayed  by  slippery  roads,  and 
would  be  in  sometime  the  next  day.  During  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  Geoi'ge,  a  well-known  chief,  caused  it  to  Ijecome  known  to 
Captain  Smith  that  an  attai'k  was  meditated  on  his  camp.  He 
instantly  set  about  moving  his  command  to  a  nmch  more  secure 
position  between  two  small  creeks  entering  the  main  stream  from 
the  noi'thwest.  He  occupied  an  oblong  elevation  some  two  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  in  lengtii,  and  about  twenty  in  width.  Between 
this  mound  and  the  I'iver  is  a  narrow  liottom  called  "  Big  Meadows," 
but  which  was  not  the  same  locality  designated  by  the  volunteers 
as  "Big  Meadows,"  and  whereon  stood  Fort  Lamerick.  The  latter 
locality  is  several  miles  further  up  the  river,  and  further  removed 
from  the  stream.    The  top  of  the  elevation  on  which  Captain 


444 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAJrETTB  VALLET. 


Smith  was  uovv  eiicamped  foi'med  a  plateau  of  size  sufficient  for 
one  company  to  encamp  upon,  and  was  of  slight  elevation.  Directly 
to  the  north  is  another  elevation  of  equal  height  and  within  rifle 
range  of  the  first.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh  the 
savages  came  in  from  all  directions  and  soon  the  north  mound  was 
covered  with  them.  A  l)ody  of  forty  warriors  attempted  to  enter 
camp,  hut  wei-e  halted  on  the  spot  and  told  to  lay  down  their  arms 
at  a  certain  place.  There  being  a  howitzer  planted  so  sis  to  rake 
that  ap[)roach,  the  Indians  felt  it  'best  to  retire.  At  ten  o'clock  in 
the  foi'enoon  the  Indians  made  a  sudden  rush  from  l)oth  sides  ;  but 
they  were  re[)ulsed  by  the  howitzer  and  infantry.  John  developed 
all  the  tactics  and  strategy  of  a  consummate  general  in  his  nuinage- 
ment  of  the  battle.  His  method  of  attack  was  by  means  of  small- 
;irm  lire  at  long  range,  charges  by  the  larger  bodies  of  V)raves,  and 
unexpected  attacks  l)y  smaller  mnnbers.  who  sought  to  gain  the 
mound  by  scaling  the  steeper  i)oi-tions  where  the  guard  was  weak. 
Only  thirty  of  Smith's  men  had  arms  adapted  to  long  range  shoot- 
ing, the  musketoon  of  the  dragoons  being  useless  except  at  close 
quarters.  John's  men,  on  the  contrary,  possessed  excellent  pieces 
and  shot  effectively  from  long  distances.  At  nifjht  the  Indians 
drew  off  and  encamped.  Smith  occu|>ied  his  men  in  constructing 
rifle  pits  and  building  with  his  camp  ecpiipat:  tempoi'ary  defences, 
and  in  procuring  water  from  the  river  for  his  thii'sty  troops.  On 
the  following  morning  the  Indians  again  opened  tire  and  continued 
the  battle.  Old  John  put  forth  all  his  efforts  to  seizes  victory,  as 
there  was  every  chance  that  reinforcements  for  Smiih  would  soon 
arrive  ;  but  in  spite  of  his  generalship  and  personal  bravery  the 
assaults  were  successfully  repulsed.  About  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  Indians  formed  in  two  bodies  with  tlu^  intention  of 
attacking  both  flanks  simultaneously.  Just  at  th(>  critical  moment 
of  their  attack.  Captain  Augur's  company  was  seen  advancing.  In 
conjunction  with  these  Smith  charged  and  dispersed  the  enemy, 
John  and  all  the  rest  escaping  into  the  woods.  Suiith's  loss  was 
twenty-nine  in  killed  and  woimded,  the  most  of  whom  were  hit  by 
bullets  from  the  north  mound.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  is  unknown. 
To  prevent  any  like  attempts  for  the  future,  Buchanan  concentrated 
his  forces  at  the  Big  Meadows  on  the  thirtieth  of  May,  and  re- 
mained there  until  the  greater  part  of  the  Indians  had  surrendered. 


0L08INO  8CKNES  OF  THE  WAR  ON  ROGTTE  RITER. 


445 


While  Captain  Smith  was  thus  contending  with  John,  the  vol- 
unteers, some  miles  up  the  river,  were  fighting  Limjiy  and  George. 
Major  Latshaw  left  Fort  Lamerick  on  the  twenty-seventh  with  two 
hundred  and  thirteen  men,  and  marched  twelve  mih's  down  the 
river,  and  the  next  day  skirmished  with  the  Indians  of  some 
rancherias  still  lower  down,  killing  some  and  taking  fifteen  prison- 
ers. On  the  twenty-ninth,  the  day  following  John's  defeat  by  Cap- 
tain Smith,  more  skirmishing  was  done,  and  II.  C.  Houston,  Ser- 
geant in  Keith's  company,  was  hadly  wounded.  On  the  following 
day  fighting  took  [)lace  on  the  south  side  of  tlu'  river  betw(!en  a 
party  of  voliuiteers  and  some  Indians,  and  Private  Cooly,  of  Wal- 
lan's  company,  was  wounded  in  the  thigh  and  hand.  On  the  thirty- 
first  Major  Latshaw,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  moved  to 
Buchanan's  headt|uai'tcrs,  at  Big  Meadows.  They  found  here  that 
Limpy  and  George  had  surrendered,  with  their  bands,  on  May 
twenty-ninth,  the  day  following  their  fight  with  the  volunteers.  On 
the  fifth  of  June  General  Lamerick  moved  down  the  rivei'  and  en- 
camped at  Big  Btud,  where  the  regulai-s  were  lying.  The  next  day 
a  combined  movement  was  made  down  the  river  by  three  com- 
panies of  regulars  an<l  Captain  Bledsoe's  company  of  volunteers, 
and  an  Indian  encampment  was  destroyed,  some  twenty  or  more 
natives  being  killed  or  drowned  in  endeavoring  to  escape.  Two 
volunteers  were  wounded.  The  main  bwly  of  the  Indians  were  en- 
camped on  the  river  about  fifteen  miles  below  Big  Bend,  but  their 
cabins  were  found  deserted  when  the  attacking  party  arrived.  The 
remaining  acts  of  the  citizen  soldiery  can  be  briefly  told.  Major 
Bruce  headed  an  expe<lition  down  tlie  coast  to  the  country  of  the 
Chetco  and  Pistol  Ri\er  bands,  and  killed  three  males  and  took  fifty 
prisoners.  On  June  twenty-sec<md  Maj()r  Latshaw,  with  Keith, 
Noland  and  Blakely's  companies,  marched  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  via  Fort  Lamerick  to  Camas  Pi-airie  and  Deer  Creek,  and  the 
troo})s  going  to  Eugene  City  were  there  disbanded.  General  Lam- 
erick, with  Barnes"  company,  proceeded  to  Port  Orford  with  orders 
for  this  organizatiim  to  be  mustered  out  on  July  first.  Captain 
Bledsoe,  with  his  men,  remained  in  service  for  a  short  time  subse- 
quently. 

On  the  twentieth  of  June  Chief  John  sent  five  of  his  braves  to 
Buchanan's  head -quarters  to  announce  that  theii*  leader  would  sur- 


446 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


render  on  the  same  terms  as  had  Limpy,  George  nnd  other  chiefs, 
but  lie  wished  the  wliites  to  guarantee  safety  to  Enos,  who  was  an 
object  of  particuhxr  aversion  to  the  vohuiteers.  Previously,  the 
chief  had  refused  all  overtures  of  peace,  saying  that  war  suited  him, 
and  that  in  s|)ite  of  the  desertion  of  all  the  other  Indians  he  would 
remain  in  his  l)eloved  country  and  fight.  By  the  first  of  July  all 
the  known  hostiles  had  surrendered  save  a  few  about  Pistol  liiver, 
and  John's  own  band.  Sated  with  une(jual  combats,  John  surren- 
dered to  the  regular  army,  an  eseort  of  one  hundre(l  and  ten  soldiers 
being  sent  out  to  accompany  him  and  his  little  Itand  of  thirty-five 
to  Port  Orford. 

The  objects  of  the  war  were  now  accomplished.  The  last  band 
of  hostile  Indians  had  surren«lered.  On  the  temjxtrary  reservation 
at  Port  Orford  were  gathered  about  -  ■  thousand  three  hundred 
Indians  of  various  tribes,  and  including  all  the  surviving  members 
of  the  bands  which  had  begun  and  carried  on  the  war.  The  Coast 
Reservation  was  fixed  ujtou  as  their  future  abode — a  tract  seventy 
miles  loug,  lying  upon  the  coast  of  Oregou  and  extending  from 
Cape  Perpetua  to  Cape  Lookout,  and  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  the 
western  water-shed  of  the  Willamette.  liy  the  first  of  kSe[)tember, 
1856,  two  thousand  and  seven  hundred  Indians  had  been  removed 
there.  Enos,  too,  was  there  for  a  time,  but  his  restless  liabits  got 
him  into  difficulties,  ami  he  made  illicit  expeditions  to  various  parts 
of  the  State,  and  beiug  <letected  therein  was  denounced  by  certain 
nervous  people  as  a  fire-brand  who  was  seekiii.:  to  again  spread 
the  flames  of  war.  There  is  a  tradition  in  Curry  county  that  Enos 
was  hanged  ui)on  Battle  Rock  at  Port  Oi'f<»rd;  but  the  Indian  then 
executed  was  one  of  four  C«Hpiille  Indians  hanged  for  the  murder 
of  Venable  and  Burton.     The  fate  of  Enos  is  unknown. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  CASCADES. 


Colonel  Wright  Afsumen  Command  of  the  Rcfjidars — His  lyintrudiona 
from  General  Wool — lie  Starts  for  the  Wolht  Walla  Coantri/  with 
a  Stronif  Force— Fears  of  an  Attack  on  the  Cascaths — The  Atiack  is 
Matle  on,  the  Ttci  nty-Si.eth  of  March,  ISuG — Details  if  the  Affair — 
Colonel  Wriyht  Conies  to  the  Rescue  from  The  Dalles,  and  Lieuten- 
ant Sh(r/(lan  frotn  Vancouver — Indians  Captured  and  Ilamjed — 
List  of  Jyilled  and  Wounded — Intelliijence  of  the  Attack  Creates 
Great  Kxciteuwnt  in  Portland  and  up  the  Valley  —  Two  Vidunteer 
Companies  go  to  the  Rescue — Panicy  Rum  -rs  Distract  the  Peopile — 
All  Quiet  on  the  Sandy. 

WHILE  the  oomniand  of  Colonel  Cornelius  was  hunting  for 
Indians  along  the  Snake  and  Columbia  rivers,  the  people 
living  in  fancied  security  in  the  valley  experienced  the  di'ead  alarms 
of  war.  VV^hen  the  i)th  Infantry  arrived  the  entire  force  of  regidars 
wa.s  placed  under  the  conunand  »»f  Colonel  George  Wright.  He 
received  general  instructions  from  his  ^^nperior,  who  remained  in 
San  Francisco,  to  occupy  winter  (juarters  until  a  successful  move- 
ment could  be  made  in  the  spring,  and  then  to  establish  a  military 
station  in  the  Walla  Walla  country,  not  for  the  purpose  of  making 
war  upon  the  Indians,  unless  compelled  so  to  do  by  their  own  con- 
duct, but  for  the  protection  of  the  Indians  in  their  rights  from  un- 
lawful intrusion  or  conduct  of  white  men,  and  to  insure  the  safety 
of  all  such  as  might  lawfully  reside  in  the  Indian  country.  This 
action  was  taken  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  treaties  had  not  yet 
been  ratified  by  the  Senate  and  were  not  in  force,  and  consequently 
the  rights  of  the  Indians  were  more  liable  to  be  Infringed  than  those 
of  the  whites.  lie  wjis  to  establish  and  maintain  peace.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  policy  he  moved  a  strong  force  to  The  Dalles,  and  set 


448 


niSTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLET. 


out  for  the  Walla  Walla  country  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  March.  At 
that  time  the  Oregon  volunteers  were  campaigning  about  the  mouth 
of  Snake  River,  and  all  was  <iuiet  below  them. 

Previt)us  to  this  the  po-^sibility  of  an  attack  upon  the  Cascades 
Settlement  by  the  Klickitats,  had  been  antieipatiHl.  On  the  fifth  of 
Mareh  the  steamer  lf'as,o\VM  Hred  upon  by  Indians  while  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Hood  River.  The  day  before  they  had  burned  the 
residence  of  E.  S.  Joslyn,  on  the  Washington  side,  and  the  Wasco 
had  on  board  Lieutenant  Davidson  and  forty  men  on  their  way  to 
the  scene  of  the  ti'oubU',  when  sht^  was  tired  upt)n.  She  reliu'ned  to 
the  south  side  of  the  stream.  Soon  the  Mary  came  down  the  river 
with  Major  Ilallcr  and  lifty  men,  and  a  lamiing  was  made,  but  no 
Intlians  could  Ic  fouiitl.  From  this  and  other  indications  the  peo- 
ple living  at  the  Cascades  feared  they  might  be  attacked,  and  nuide 
preparations  to  take  refuge  in  time  of  danger  in  the  block-house 
which  hail  Ix'cn  erected.  TIkt,'  was  at  that  time  a  railr(»ad  under 
construction  from  the  Lower  to  the  Tpper  Cascades,  on  the  Wash- 
ington side,  t(t  l)e  used  as  a  freight  and  passenger  j)<»riage  bt'tween 
the  Lower  and  L'pper  Columbia,  and  (piite  a  foi'ce  of  workmen 
was  employed.  Tht!  block-house  was  at  the  Middle  Cascades,  while 
the  majority  of  the  workmen  were  at  the  upp.^r  landing,  a  store  on 
the  river  bank  serving  as  hea(l«[uarters  at  the  latter  point.  The 
folk)wing  very  accurate  account  of  thi'  attack  was  written  by  L.  W. 
Coe  a  few  days  afterwards,  addre^ised  to  Putnam  Bradford,  wh(\ 
with  his  brother,  Daniel  F.,  was  constructing  the  railroad,  which 
was  simpV  a  wooden  tramway: — 

On  WedtU'Hday,  March  'US.  nt  al>oiU  8:30  a.  m.,  after  tht'  men  liad  gone  to  tlieir 
work  on  the  two  lirid^et*  of  the  new  railway,  mostly  on  the  hridge  near  KuhIi's 
houHe,  the  YakhnaH  eiune  down  on  IIS.  There  was  a  line  of  them  from  Mill  Creek 
above  uh  to  the  liijjr  point  at  the  liead  of  tlie  fails,  firing  »lnuiltaneousIy  on  the  men  ; 
and  tlie  flrst  notice  we  liad  of  tlum  was  the  l)nlletH  and  the  crack  of  tlieir  guns. 
Of  our  men,  at  tlio  tlnst  fire,  one  wax  kille<l  and  several  wounded.  I  will  give  y«)u 
a  liHt  liereinafter.  Our  mtn  on  Heeing  tlie  IndijiiiH,  all  ran  for  our  store  through 
a  shower  of  liullets,  excej)t  three  who  started  down  streiim  for  tlie  middle  Idock- 
house,  distant  one  and  a  liidf  miles.  Hush  and  his  family  also  ran  into  our  store, 
leaving  his  own  houHe  vacant.  The  Watkins  family  cnme  to  the  store  after  a  Dutch 
boy,  wlio  was  lame  from  a  cut  in  tlie  foot,— had  l)een  shot  in  tlieir  liousc.  Watkins, 
Finlay  and  Baily  were  at  work  on  the  new  wareliouse  on  the  island,  around  which 
the  water  wa«  now  high  enough  to  run  about  three  feet  deep  under  the  l)riilges. 
There  was  grand  confusion  in  tlie  store  at  first;  and  JSinclalr.  of  Walla  Walla,  go- 
ing to  the  railroad  door  to  look  out,  was  shot  from  the  hank  above  the  store  and  in- 
stantly killed.    Some  uf  ue  then  oommeQced  getting  the  guns  and  riilea,  which 


r:.^^ 
'-<\^ 


At 
ith 


HLOCK   HorSK  AT  THE  CASCADKS.— Ske  I'a(M8  UH,  4<">2. 


THE  ATT4CK  OK  THE  CASCADES. 


449 


were  ready  loaded,  from  behind  the  counter.  Fortunately,  about  an  hour  before, 
there  had  been  left  with  us  for  trunsportutiou  below,  nino  United  .StateH  (<overn- 
raent  rifles  witli  eartridj^e  boxes  arul  ammunition.  Tliese  saved  us.  As  the  upper 
story  of  the  house  was  abandoned,  Sniitli,  the  cook,  having  come  l)elow,  ami  as  the 
stairway  was  outside  wiiere  wedarenotj^o,  tiie  stovepipe  wa^^  hauled  down,  the  hole 
enlarged  with  axes,  and  a  party  of  men  frawled  up,  and  the  ujjper  part  i>f  the  house 
was  Hoon  secured.  We  were  snrpriseil  tluit  the  Indians  hud  not  rushed  iuto  the 
upper  ilory,  as  there  was  nothing  or  nobotly  to  prevent  them. 

Our  men  soon  gnt  some  shots  at  the  Indians  on  the  liank  above  us.  I  saw  Bush 
shoot  an  Indian,  tiie  first  one  killed,  ho  was  drawiu',;  a  l>ead  on  Mrs.  Wiitkhis  as 
she  was  running  for  our  store.  H>  dropped  instantly.  Alexander  ami  oliiers 
mounted  into  the  gable  under  the  roof,  aiui  from  lliere  was  done  niost  of  our  tiring, 
it  being  tiu"  best  place  of  ol)servatlon.  In  tlie  meantime,  we  were  barricading  in 
the  store,  making  port-iioles  and  firing  when  op|»orluiiity  presented.  Hut  the  In- 
dians were  soon  very  cautious  aboLit  exposing  lhemselvi-».  I  took  churKe  of  llie 
store,  Dan  Bradford  of  tiie  second  Hoor,  and  Alexander  of  the  garret  and  roof. 

The  steamer  M<iri/  was  lying  in  tiie  mouth  of  Mill  Cnek,  hu<1  the  wind  was 
blowing  hard  down  stream.  VViieti  we  saw  Indians  running  toward  lnr  and  iieard 
the  shots,  we  supposed  she  would  be  taktMi  ;  and  as  she  lay  just  out  of  our  sight,  ami 
we  saw  smoke  rising  from  lier,  concluded  siie  was  burning,  but  what  was  our  glad 
surprise  after  a  while  to  see  her  put  out  and  run  across  the  river.  I  will  give  an 
account  of  the  attack  on  her  hereinafter. 

The  Indians  now  returiu-d  in  force  to  us,  and  we  gave  every  one  a  shot  who 
showed  itimself.  Tliey  were  nearly  naked,  jjalnted  red.  and  had  guns  and  bows 
and  arrows.  After  a  wlule  Finlay  <'ame  creeping  arouiul  t lie  lower  point  of  the 
Island  toward  our  house.  We  halloed  to  him  to  lie  down  Itehiiul  a  roi'k,  aiul  he 
did  so.  He  called  that  he  could  not  get  to  the  store  as  the  bank  ai)ove  us  was  cov- 
ered wili»  Indians.  He  saw  Watkln's  bouse  burn  while  there.  The  Indians  tlrst 
took  out  all  they  wanted- bliinkets,  <lothes,  guns,  etc.  By  this  tiiiu- tiie  Imiians 
liad  crossed  in  canoes  to  the  i-laiid,  and  we  saw  them  coming,  as  we  supposed,  alter 
I'Inliiy.  We  then  saw  Watkinsand  Haili  y  r,iniiiny:  around  the  river  side  towartis 
the  place  where  Khilay  was,  and  llu'  fiidi  nis  in  lull  i-liasenfter  them.  .V"  our  own 
nu'ti  came  around  the  point  in  full  \  lew,  Haiiey  was  -hot  t>, rough  tlie  arm  and  leg. 
He  continued  on,  and,  pliinning  into  the  river,  swam  to  the  front  of  our  store  and 
came  in  safely,  excejit  for  his  wounds.  He  narrowly  eseaned  going  over  the  falls. 
Klnlay  also  swam  across  and  i;'!  in  unlianiird,  which  was  woiidiTMil,  as  there  wim» 
a  shower  of  Inillets  around  ibiiii. 

Watkins  next  came  niniiing  :i..)und  the  point,  and  we  called  to  him  to  lie  down 
behind  a  rock,  but  before  he  could  do  so  he  was  shot  in  the  wrist,  tlie  ball  going  up 
the  arm  ami  (ail  aliove  tin  elbow.  iU-  dropped  behind  a  rock  jiisl  us  the  piirsiiing 
Indians  came  rollowlm;  around  the  point,  liut  we  gave  Ibern  so  hot  arecepii'>n  from 
our  house  tliat  they  ba(ke(I  out  and  Icit  jioor  Watkins  where  he  lay,  VV«'  cailetl  to 
Watkins  to  lie  still  and  we  would  gel  him  oil';  luit  we  were  not  aide  to  do  so  until 
after  the  arrival  from  Tlie  D.illcs  of  the  steamer  ,l/'/'V/ with  tr<K»ps— two  days  and 
nights  afterwards.  During  tliis  time  W.itkiiis  fainted  -ever.il  times  from  wiakness 
and  exposure,  Ihi'  weather  lieiiig  very  cold,  and  he  was  stripped  down  to  his  under- 
clothes for  swimming.  When  he  fainted  he  would  roll  down  the  sti'cp  bank  into 
the  river,  and  the  ice-cold  water  rcviviinr  liliii,  he  would  crawl  hack  under  tire  to 
his  retreat  iK-hind  the  rock.  Meiintinie,  his  wife  and  children  were  in  the  store,  in 
full  view  :ind  moaning  pilcously  at  his  terrible  situation.  He  dietl  from  txliaus- 
lion  two  (iavK  alter  he  was  rescued. 

The  Indians  were  now  pitching  into  us  "rl^ht  smart."  They  tried  to  hum  us 
out;  threw  rucks  uad  tlrebrauds,  hot  Jruus,  pitch  wood — •verylbiug  uu  to  the  roof 


460 


UISTOUY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


that  would  l>ura.  But  you  will  recollect  that  for  a  ^^ilort  distance  back  the  bank 
iucliiifd  toward  tho  iiouse,  and  we  could  nee  and  !<ho»)t  tlie  Indiann  who  appeared 
there.  So  they  hud  to  throw  I'roni  such  a  distance  that  the  larjrent  rocks  and  huij- 
dle«  of  tire  ditl  not  quite  reach  uh;  and  what  did,  gcin'raliy  roiled  off  the  roof. 
iSonietiniert  the  roof  j?ot  on  ttre,  nn<i  we  cut  it  out,  or  with  cups  <if  l)rine  drawn  from 
pork  barrilH,  put  it  out,  or  with  long  wlicks  shoved  oil'  the  lire  halls.  Phe  kitchen 
roof  troiihlcd  UN  the  most.  IIuw  they  did  pepper  us  with  rocks;  sonic  of  the  big 
ones  would  shake  the  house  all  over. 

There  were  now  forty  men.  women  and  children  in  tin-  house — four  icoincn  and 
eigiiteen  men  that  could  tiuht  and  eighteen  wounded  men  and  (children.  The 
steamer  H'a.^co  was  on  the  Ore^jon  side  of  the  river.  We  saw  her  ^team  up  and 
leave  for  'I'lie  Dalles.  iShortly  sifter,  the  stcunu'r  Mnn/  also  left.  .She  had  to  take 
Atwell's  fence  rails  for  wimkI.  So  patwed  the  day,  during  wliich  the  Indians  luid 
burned  lnn;an's  two  liouses.  your  saw-mill  and  houses,  and  the  lun>her  yards  at 
till'  mouth  of  Mill  (.'reek.  At  dayli){lit  they  set  lire  to  your  new  wareliouse  on  the 
island,  making;  it  as  li);lit  as  di<y  around  us.  I  suppose  lliey  rcseiNcil  thiH  hi'ilding 
for  ni(;ht  that  we  mit;ht  not  ^et  Watkins  oil.  They  did  not  attack  us  at  nifilit,  hut 
the  second  morning  commenced  a»  lively  as  ever.  We  hud  no  water,  hut  did  have 
about  two  dozen  ale  and  a  I'ew  bottles  of  whisky.  Tlicse  j-ave  out  dnring  the  day. 
During  the  nighl,  a  Spokane  Indian  wlio  was  traveling  with  Siiieluir,  and  was  in 
the  store  with  us,  voluntetred  to  get  a  |iail  of  water  Ironi  the  river.  1  t'onsenled, 
and  he  stripped  himself  naked,  jumped  out  and  down  the  Liank,  and  was  liack  in 
no  time.  By  this  time  we  liMiked  for  the  steamer  from  The  Dalles,  and  were  greatly 
tlisapiM»inted  at  her  non-arrival.  We  weatliered  it  out  <lnring  the  day,  every  nuin 
keeping  ills  post,  ariil  never  relaxing  in  vigilance.  Kvery'  moving  oliject,  shallow, 
or  siwjiici.'iiH  liusli  on  the  hill  rectivi'd  a  sliot.  The  Indians  must  liave  tliought 
the  house  a  bomltshell,  'l\i  our  ceaseless  vigilance  I  ascriiie  our  safety.  Night 
came  again  :  we  saw  Slieppard's  house  burn  ;  Bush's  house  near  by  wuh  also  tired, 
Hiid  kept  us  in  light  until  about  four  a.  .m.,  wlieii  darkness  returning,  I  sent  ttie 
Spokane  Indian  for  water  from  the  r'  -r,  and  lie  filled  two  barrels,  lie  went  to 
and  fro  like  lightning.  We  also  sllppe  •  ;»oor  JiiiueH  Sin<!lair's  body  down  the  slide 
outside,  us  tile  corjise  was  (|uile  offensive. 

I'he  two  steamers  now  having  exceeded  the  length  of  time  we  gave  them  in 
which  to  return  lioni  The  Dalles,  we  made  up  oi!r  minds  for  a  long  siege  and  until 
relief  came  from  below.  We  could  not  account  for  it,  luil  supposeil  the  niiitli  rtgi- 
nient  liad  left  Tlie  Dalles  for  Walla  Walla,  and  had  proceeded  too  far  to  return. 
The  third  moiiiing  dawned,  and  lo!  (he  ,Vf (/■.(/  ami  the  ir'Mco,  blue  with  soldierH, 
and  tow  ing  a  fhit-bout  witli  <lrago'in  horses,  hove  in  in  sight:  "irfi  a  hallo  <(h  we 
yaw. 

As  the  steamer  landed  the  Indians  fired  tv/enly  or  thirty  shots  into  them,  hut 
we  could  not  ascertain  with  any  efl'ecf.  The  soldiers  as  they  got  ashore  could  i.ot 
tie  restrained,  and  jilunged  into  the  woods  in  every  direction,  while  the  liowltzern 
sent  grajie  after  the  retiealing  redskins.  The  soldiers  were  soon  at  our  store,  and 
we,  I  tliink  I  moy  any,  exjiericneed  (|uile  a  fe»'ling  of  relief  on  opening  our  dooix. 

During  this  time  we  hail  not  heard  from  lielow.  A  company  of  dragiMins  under 
("olonel  Steptoe  went  on  <lown  Dan  went  with  them.  The  Itlock-liouse  at  the 
Miildle  Cascades  still  luld  out.  Allen's  house  was  biinnd  niid  e\ery  otiierone  be- 
low. (Jeorge  W,  Johnson's,  S.  M.  Hamilton's  V.  A.  Chenoweth's,  the  wharf  bout 
at  Caseudes— all  gone  up.  Next  in  order  conies  the  attack  on  the  .Va/7/.  She  lay 
in  Mill  Creek,  no  fires,  and  wind  hard  ashore.  Jim  'I'hompson,  John  Woodani, 
and  Jim  Herman  were  just  going  up  to  tlie  boat  from  <>ur  store,  and  iiad  nearly 
readied  her  us  they  were  fired  upon.  Ileinian  asked  if  tliey  had  any  gunn.  No. 
He  went  on  up  (<>  Inmun's  liuuse,  the  rest  Httiyiug  to  help  get  the  8teainer  out. 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  CASCADES. 


451 


Capt.  Dan  Baughman  and  Thompson  were  ashore  on  the  upper  side  of  the  creek 
hauling  on  hnes,  wlien  tlie  flrinj?  from  tlie  Indians  bfcame  so  hot  that  they  run  for 
the  woods,  |)a.st  Iiunan's  housi-.  The  fireman,  .lames  Lindsay,  was  shot  tlirough 
the  shoulder.  EngineLT  BudtminstL-r  shot  an  Indian  witli  liis  revolver  on  the 
ganit-plank,  and  little  Johnny  Chance  wont  climliing  up  on  tiie  hurricane  deck, 
with  an  old  dragoon  pistol,  killed  his  Indian  ;  hut  h"  was  shot  tlnouiih  t!ie  leg  in 
doing  so.  Dick  Turpin,  half  crazy,  proi)al>ly,  taking  the  only  gun  <ii  the  steam- 
hoat,  Jumped  into  a  flat  Itoat  lying  alon;rside.  was  shot,  and  Jumped  overhoard  and 
was  drowned.  Fires  were  soon  startetl  under  the  lioiler  and  steuui  was  riii-<ing. 
About  this  time,  Jesse  Kemjiton,  sliot  while  driviuK  an  ox  team  from  the  saw-mill, 
got  on  hoard;  also  a  half-hncil  nanu'<l  "Bourlion,"  who  was  shot  throuy:li  tlie  luxly. 
After  sufHcient  steam  to  move  was  raised,  Hardin  Ciienowetli  ran  up  into  the  pilot- 
lu)use,  and,  lying  on  the  floor,  ttirneil  the  wheel  as  he  wius  directed  from  the  lower 
deck.  It  is  ahnost  needless  to  say  that  the  pilot-house  was  a  target  for  the  In<iians. 
After  the  steamer  was  fairly  hacked  out  and  turned  around,  hedhl  toot  that  whistle 
at  them  good.  T<iot !  toot  I  toot  I  it  was  nuisie  in  our  ears.  The  steamer  pielced  up 
Herman  on  the  hank  ahove.  Inman's  family,  Sheppard,  and  Vainlerpool  all  got 
across  the  river  in  skifl's,  and  hoarding  the  Mori/,  went  to  the  Dalles. 

Coloiu'l  (ieorge  Wriyht  and  the  ninth  regiment,  Second  Dragoons,  and  Third 
Artillery,  had  started  f<u'  Walla  Walla,  and  were  out  live  miles,  camped.  Tliey  re- 
ceived lU'Ws  of  tlu>  attack  at  eleven  I".  At.,  and  hy  daylight  were  liai'k  at  Tlie  Dalles. 
Starting  (hiwn,  they  ojily  reached  Wind  Mountain  that  night,  as  tlie  Man/'n  lioiler 
was  in  had  onler,  hecause  of  a  new  Hrenutn  the  day  before.  They  reached  us  the 
next  morning  at  six  o'clock. 

Now  for  t)elow.  ( ieoriic  .Fohnson  wait  ahont  to  get  a  boat's  crew  of  Indians,  when 
Indian  Jack  came  running  to  him,  saying  tiie  Yakimas  had  attacked  the  block- 
house. He  di<l  not  believe  it,  although  he  heard  the  cannon.  He  went  up  to  the  In- 
dian village  on  the  sarul-bar  toget  his  crew;  saw  sonu' of  the  Cascaiie  Indians,  wlio 
said  they  thought  the  Yakimas  had  ciime,  aiul  (ieorue  now  hearluu  the  muskets, 
ran  for  home.  K.  W.  Haugliman  was  with  him.  Bill  Murphy  had  lelt  the  block- 
house early  for  the  Indian  camp,  arul  had  nearly  r<'t'i:ned  before  he  saw  the  Indi- 
ans or  wxs  shot  at.  He  returned,  two  others  wilii  him,  and  ran  for  (ieorge  Jfihn- 
son's,  al>out  thirty  Indians  in  chasi-.  After  reaching  Johnson's,  Murphy  rontlnued 
on  and  gave  Hamilton  i,n(i  all  below  warning,  and  llie  families  cml>ai  kid  in  small 
boats  for  Vancouver.  The  men  would  have  barricaded  in  tlie  wharf-boat  but  for 
want  of  ammunition.  There  was  coiisidiralile  government  freight  in  th<' wliarf- 
boat.  They  stayrd  about  the  wharf-boat  and  scliooner  nearly  all  day,  and  until  the 
Indians  commenced  tiring  npnti  tiu'in  from  the  zim-  house  on  the  bank.  They 
then  shoved  out.  Tommy  I'rice  was  shot  tliroujih  the  leg  in  getting-  the  boat.s  into 
the  stream.  Floating  down  tlu'y  'net  the  steamer  /ir//c  with  I'iiil  Sheridan  and 
forty  men,  sent  u\\  on  report  of  an  express  carried  down  hy  Indian  Simpson  in  the 
morning.  (Jeorgeand  those  with  him  went  on  i)oard  the  steamer  and  volunteered 
to  serve  umler  Sheridan,  wlio  lauded  at  ({tMirLre's  place  and  found  everything 
burm>d.  The  st<>amer  returned,  ami  the  Indians  pitcin  <l  into  Sheriilati,  Inught 
liim  all  day,  and  drove  him  with  forty  men  ami  ten  volunteers  to  below  Handl- 
t^m's,  notwithstanding  he  had  asuudi  cannon    one  soldier  killed. 

The  steamer  /;'//»■  returned  tite  next  day  ithird  of  the  attack  )  and  brought  am- 
munition for  the  block-house.  ,  our  partner,  liishop,  who  was  in  I'ortlamI,  came 
up  on  her.  Hteamor  Ftm/ititn,  with  volunteers  from  i'firtland,  cntrie  .'it  the  ranie 
time.  The  volunteers  remaiiu'd  at  the  I, owi'r  Cascades.  SluMlilau  took  his  com- 
mii'l.and  with  a  bateaux  loaded  with  ammunition,  erossetl  to  Itradford's  Island 
on  the  Oregon  side,  where  they  foumi  most  of  tlie  Cascade  Indians,  tiny  having 
been  advised  by  Cu-urge  Jobusuu  tu  gu  ou  there  the  lltbt  da)  of  the  attack,     i  liey 


462 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


wen;  crtwslnjf  and  rwroHHinjr  all  thf  time,  ami  Hherldaii  iiinde  them  prlsonera.  He 
|)reK«i'(l  a  Ixtut's  crew,  and  aw  they  towed  up  to  the  head  of  the  Inland  nnd  ahove, 
Haw  irreat  nuniherw  of  IndianH  on  the  Wnslilnpton  Territory  side  and  opposite  them. 
Slieridaii  expe'led  tliein  locrosMand  tl>rJit  liim.nnd  between  tliein  and  tlie  frienrlly(?) 
Indiiins  in  lii-  eliarire.  tliouirht  lie  lind  his*  hands  full. 

.lust  then  Sheridan  discovered  Steptoe  and  his  drauoon  infantry  and  volunteers 
|'(l^nin^'  down  from  tlii'  Miii'ji.  siirprisirifj;  completely  the  IndianH,  who  were  cooking 
heef  and  watchine  SluTidan  aerons  tlie  rivt-r.  Hut  on  the  sound  of  the  l)Uirle  tlio 
Indians  tle<l  like  deer  to  Ihc  woods,  with  the  loss  of  only  one  killed— "old  .loanani.'' 
I?ui  lor  llic  linirle  tliey  ouuht  t"  have  captured  tifty. 

'rheiiiinli  retrimi'Ut  arc  luiildintr  a  lilock-house  un  the  hill  ahove  us,  also  at 
( tcorL'e  li)linson's,  Kiitl  will  hereafter  kce)»  a  stromr  •orcc  here.  Lieutciiant  HIsHell 
and  twelve  men  who  wer<  -<tHtione<I  at  the  I';. per  Cascades,  were  ordered  away,  and 
left  for  The  Dalles  ivi'o  days  In  fore  the  attack  was  ma<le  upon  U"'. 

'{'he  Iniliiins  Sheridan  took  on  the  islanti  were  closely  iruardetl  Old  C'henowith 
ichitf)  was  lirouyht  up  before  Colonel  Wrijrht.  tried.  a'i<l  sentenced  to  he  hun>r. 
The  Cascade  Indians,  lielmr  under  treaty,  were  adjudi/ed  iruihy  of  treason  in  tlirht- 
inR.  Chenowi'h  died  iraine;  was  hun^r  on  the  upper  side  of  Mill  Creek.  I  acted  aa 
Interpreter.  He  otVercd  ten  liorset),  two  sipiaWH,  and  a  little  •^oiiiethinir  to  evc-y 
"lyi'c."  for  his  life  ;  said  he  was  afraid  of  the  jrrave  in  the  uiound.  and  lieLr>re<l  to  he 
put  into  an  Indian  tlead  hotisc  He  jrave  n  terrltle  warwhinip  while  the  rojie  was 
iH'in;.'  put  around  his  neck.  I  tliouirht  he  expeeteil  the  Indians  to  conu>  and  i*:  '(le 
him.  Tlie  rope  did  mil  wurk  well,  ami  whib-  hanu'invr  I;,' nnittered,  "  W<ih' nikn 
kiniHH  Icitftii  im  iiinliKiai  ;^'  i  I'm  not  afraid  to  die.  I  Me  was  then  shot.  I  was  plad 
to  see  he  old  devil  killed,  beintr  satlsfleil  that  he  was  at  tlie  bottom  of  all  troid)le. 
Hut  I  can  not  detail  at  too  I'rent  lenirth. 

The  ne\t  day  Tef-onieoc  and  Cap.  Jo  were  humr.  Cap.  .To  said  all  the  Cascad* 
Indians  were  in  flic  tli^bt.  The  next  day  Tsy,  Sim  Lasselas,  and  Kour-flnjrered 
.lolinuy  wcr<'  huuir.  The  next  day  Chennwitli  .Mm,  Tumalth,  and  Old  Sk<'in  were 
buntr,  and  K.-uicwuke  sentenced,  but  reprieved  on  Ihescaftbld.  IS' im- in  all  were  exe- 
cuted. Manaha  Is  a  prisoner  at  Vancouver  ami  decorated  wilh  l>all  and  chain.  Tlie 
rest  of  the  Cascade  Indians  are  on  your  island,  and  will  In-  shot  if  seen  ofl'  of  it. 
Such  arc  Coliiiicl  Wriirhl's  onlers  How,  \Vati(|Uin.  I'dcr.  .Mabooka  .lohn,  Kotyue^ 
and  mavbe  more  of  them.  Isiive  trone  with,  the  Yaklmas. 

I  foruot  to  I  'ntion  that  your  house  at  the  L«>wer  Cascaties.  also  llisbop's,  wa« 
burned  :  also  t.' account  for  ('a|it.  Dan  iiituifbman  and  .Jim.  Thomjisdi),  They  put 
liack  into  the  mountains,  muiI  at  nijrht  came  down  to  the  river  at  Vandcr|)ool's 
place,  fished  up  un  old  lM>al  ai;d  ero«s«><l  to  tlie  Oregon  side.  They  coiu'«'alcd  tliem- 
selves  in  the  rocks  on  the  river  bank  opfMmlle,  wHtp  thoy  eould  watch  us  ;  jind  at 
Tilcrht  went  back  intr>  the  >iiountains  to  sleep  They  c4inH'  in  safel>'  after  the  troops 
arrived. 

Wp  do  not  know  how  many  Indians  there  were.  They  aiiack^d  Ittc  block-house, 
our  place,  and  drove  Sheridan  all  at  the  same  time.  We  think  there  was  not  less 
than  two  or  three  hnn<lre<l.  When  the  attack  was  made  on  us  three  of  ot^r  e4»rpei>- 
ters  ran  for  the  ndildle  block-house,  overtooK  the  ears  at  the  salmon  house,  cut  tho 
mules  loo^c.  and.  \vi(h  (be  car  drivers,  all  kcpi  on.  They  a"re  not  ti.ed  i,»  until 
tln'y  irot  to  the  sprint!  on  the  railroad.  Iml  from  Iberi'  liicy  r  ii  the  ^a'.mtlcl  of  Ind- 
icts and  arj-owslothe  fort.  Little  Jake  was  killed  in  the  run.  Several  were  wounded. 
I  append  a  lis!  of  killed  and  wounded.  Hut  this  is  a  lon^  letter;  but  knowiuK.Vou 
w(udd  be  anxious  tt)  bear  all  the  particulars.  I  have  endeavored  to  ^ive  you  a  tru.> 
description.  Dan  is  writln^r  to  others  at  home,  and  has  read  tliis  letter.  We  have 
Ifot  to  work  a^rain  builditiK  and  trans])ortiuK' ;  are  K<>iiiK  '<>  build  a  saw-ndll  as  soon 
liM  we  can      We  liad  but  few  pour  s|itH!iluc'Us  ot  men  here  during  tbi  tlttht.  Kt'iierully 


THK  ATTACK  ON  THE  OASCADEK. 


4r)8 


all  behaving  well.  'I'li' ii'  wu.s,  however,  one  notable  exception -a  i)er8on  who  ar- 
rlveii  at  the  store  but  a  It'W  iiiiiiuteH  In't'ore  the  fight  eouiniciK^ed,  aud  wlioHe  naiiif 
i  will  yivf  \nii  ill  piTsim.  Am  a  little  afralil  to  go  to  Hoc  1\  C'reeli  to  ll.sli,  in  laut 
have  iiail  no  tinii'  hi  lar.  Don't  tliink  I  shall  havo  much  tiahing  thiaMununer. 
Wish  you  wtTf  Imi-k. 

Kn.M;ii~(>e<)i-;^e  (JrlwwoM,  B.  W.  Brown  ami  wife,  Itilled  at  thesaw-inill,  bodien 
fouml  s(ri()jn'.l  iialii<l  in  Mill  (loek;  Jinuny  VVatliiiiH,  driving  team  at  mill;  Henry 
Hanar,  shot  in  \Vutkin»*  house,  body  burned;  Jake  Kyle.  (Jorman  boy;  Jacob 
NVIiite,  sawyer  at  mill  ;  I'onrbon,  htilt'-breed,  died  on  the  Mary  going  to  The  Dalles; 
Jaiiu'H  , Sinclair,  of  the  flud^on'-  I'ay  Company,  W'lilla  Walla;  Diek  'I'urpiii,  i-olored 
eook  on  the  steamer  Mini/:  .Norman  Palmer,  driving  teani  at  mill ;  (.'alderwixul. 
working  at  i.iill ;  three  United  .Stati's  soldiers,  mime.s  unknown;  (Uiorge  VVatkina, 
lived  four  days;  Jiicob  Uousli,  carpenter,  lived  six  days. 

\VorNi)i;i>.  — KlftclKM-  .Mmpliy,  arm  ;  J.  Lindsey,  shoulder;  Tommy  I'riee,  thigh  ; 
.MoHiil,  railroail,  hainl ;  .M.  Bailey,  leg  and  arm  ;  two  soldiers,  I'nited  .states  army  ; 
I'.  tSnooks,  Itoy,  le^  ;  Jesse  Kemplon,  shoubhT;  M.  Kyle,  (ierman  ;  .lolmny  Chance, 
leg;  J.  Algiii,  slightly. 

Tlu'  I'DiidiU't  of  CoK)nvl  Wright  in  tlii'^  tiffiiir  was  liiglily  pnii.sed 
l)y  the  pri'.'^.si  and  pcoj)!*'.  Although  in  canni,  on  hiw  way  to  \\  jilhi 
Walhi,  when  the  coiiriir  lnoiight  him  ut'wx  of  tht'  attat-k  just  be- 
fort'  nii(hiight,  he  at  one"  rou.-ii'd  hi.s  nifii  and  innrcht'd  the  wholf 
ctoninmnd,  iiifantr\,  artilli'iy  and  dragoons  hack  to  Thi'  Ualh'.'?, 
loaded  all  of  them  ht>  could  possil.ly  i-rowd  u|»)n  the  sitt'iinK'r.»  and 
barge,  and  ha.stent'd  to  the  ro.sfUe  Th<'y  u<'ii  dclayetl  by  the  con- 
dition of  tlie  boilers,  Imt  \vli(  n  they  linally  reached  the  scene  of 
action  Colonel  Wright  and  Colonel  Ste[itoe  led  the  tnajps  in  per- 
son in  a  charge  Iteiore  wliit^h  the  enemy  tied  li  ie  nheep.  No  less 
gjillant  was  the  conduct  of  liit'Utenaiii  I'hil  S!i«?ridan.  l  he  new.s 
reached  Naiicouver  late  in  the  evening  of  the  attack,  and  at  tivt' 
next  morning  he  started  up  the  ri\er  with  fort}  dragoons  and  a 
few  volunteers.      His  coinluct  while  tlu're  has  been  related. 

Tlie  intelligence  reached  Portland  late  on  tlii'  nighl  of  the 
twenty-si.vth,  and  rreated  gicii  cxciti'inent.  A  [uiblic  nieetbig  wa« 
called,  and  a  compan\  of  volunteers  orijani/e<|  the  next  d/iv.  I  he\ 
were  refused  the  use  of  'reriiioci.al  arms  by  those  who  had  them 
in  ciiarge,  and  having  pick  d  up  twenty  pieces  of  vui'ioiis  dem-ripi- 
tions,  started  earl\  in  the  iiioining  of  the  twenty-eighth,  un  the 
steamer  /'as/iion.  The  eumpanv  was  forty  sti'<mg.  and  was  com- 
manded hy  Captain  1-.  .1.  Powell  and  Lieutenant  A.  M.  v*>t»'\vart. 
PiHH-uring  arms  ami  ammunition  at  X'ancouver,  .iftcr  nnicit  delay, 
they  arrived  at  the  Lower  Cascades  too  late  to  be  of  any  assislance 
to  Lieut<'naut  Sheridan,  and  but  a  short    time   before   the    ijidians 


454 


HISTORY  OF  WILLASrETTE  VALLEY. 


were  scattoi-ed  l)y  Colonel  Wright.  Later,  a  ooiiipany  of  sixty- 
eiixlit  men,  eoininanded  by  Ca[)tain  iS.  Coffin  and  Lieutenants  R.  N. 
McLaren  and  J.  M.  Breck,  went  up  on  the  .steamer  Jennie  Clark, 
ami,  finding  everything  (piiet,  returned  to  the  city.  A  second 
])ul»li('  niei'tiiig  was  lield  in  Poitluiid  on  the  twenty-eighth.  \\\ 
times  of  excitement  there  are  always  to  be  found  plenty  of  men 
who  seem  to  find  pleasure  in  intensifying  the  panic  by  inconsider- 
ate language,  lugubrious  prediction.s  and  rash  conduct.  People  of 
thi.s  character  having  conceived  the  idea  that  Portland  was  in 
danu'ei'  of  attack,  though  just  why  they  were  never  able  to  explain, 
called  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  taking  measures  to  defend  the 
city.  11.  W.  Davis  was  appointed  tt)  the  connnand  of  the  forces 
to  bi'  raised,  aiul  two  hundred  men  enrolled  their  names  in  response 
to  a  VA\\\  for  Volunteers.  Before  the  cc»m[»any  was  fully  organized 
rlie  absurdity  of  the  whole  proceeding  became  apparent,  and  the 
nuitter  was  (piietly  drojjped. 

The  latest  exhibition  of  an.xi<'ty  was  tlie  departure  from  Portland, 
on  the  fifth  of  A|iril,of  a  mounted  company  of  twenty-five  rangers, 
under  Capti.in  W.  iS.  Hin-kley  and  Lieutennnt  L.  J.  Powell,  who 
.'uadi  a  f.uitless  scout  in  the  ilireetion  of  the  Sandy,  in  seai'ch  of 
Indians  who  might  harbor  evil  designs  uj)on  the  peace  and  wt-lfare 
of  the  city.  Not  finding  any,  they  returned,  and  the  [)eople,  now 
relieved  of  all  an.xiety,  again  abandoned  them.selves  to  "the  sweet 
vicissitudes  of^pleasure  and  repose." 


(  IIAPTER  XX VII. 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  COLONELS  WUIUHT.  KrKPTOE  AND  SIIAW. 


AihUt'iiiiml  D>'fi'tif>t'H  lit  thi  (^nsradcK — Colonel  Wright  Inmtilei^  the,  YfiJc- 
iiiia  Coiiiitrif  -III-  Fn'ih  to  Neffot'iiite  lolth  Kaiiia-i-ukun,  and  Ue- 
turnx  to  Till  l)((lli H  -PliiDi*  of  (ioi'eniiir  Stenfii/t — //e  Sttuis  the 
ISci'oiid  lii'giiiient  into  tho  Wdlla  W'ulln  Comitry  in  two  Battalions  - 
Vunij)oHitioii  of  the  liiifinient- — Battle  of  Grand  lionde — Battle  of 
Burnt  Hirer — liilli'il  aud  Wound nd  -Colonel  Shatn  Arertf  a  War 
with  the  xW.r  Percex  -Colouil  Sf.<.j''<-  nent  to  Walla  Walla  to  Build 
a  Fort  His  Proclamation  that  the  Indian  Treaties  were  not  yet  in 
Fmce — (roreruor  iSferens  f;  "'te.i  the  Trihn*  to  Hold  a  Coauril  at 
Walla  Walla — The  Council  >!i.  I  ii  friendly  one  -Lack  of  Harinnny 
between  Stevrn.t  mnl  Steptoe — Stevens  Attacked  hy  the  Indiann  and 
w  RcKcaeil  hySfiptoe  -A  Block-l.oiixe  Built  and  Garrisoned  and 
Troops  liffi/rn  to  The  Dalles  A'olnml  Wright  I.caih  an  Kvpedition 
to  Walla  Walla-  He  hidds  a  Council  anil  Ananges  a  I'eace  upon  the 
Grounds  of  Mutual  Forgiveness  for  the  '-Late  Cn pleasantness'''' — 
Got'M'nor  Stevens'  Treaties  and  his  Gjdnion  oj  Wright's  Treaty - 
Northern  Indians  Invade  Paget  Sound-  JC rectum  of  Fort  Willa 
Walla-  Situiitit'o  if  ajfairs  in  the  fndian  Country  -Colnnel  Step- 
toe^s  Defeat  in  the  J'alnuse  Country  II it*  Disastrous  Hi  treat  South 
(f  Snake  Ii'ivce  .\  U.coril  of  Heroism  ond  Cowardic  -Colon  l 
Wright  Chastises  the  I ndians  at  Medical  l^tke  -The  Sjmkanes,  i'ak- 
iiiias  a  •III  Palonxis  Sue  for  Peace  and  Surrender  I'nconditionally 
J/osfages  Taken  and  Tuulve  Indians  Hung  The  Walla  Wallas 
Tamely  Sahmit  to  the  Hanging  of  Four  of  their  Nuinher. 

THE  |)inj)(»s((l  niovriiK'iit  into  tilt'  AN'mH.i  Walla  fouritrv,  so 
suddenly  iiilt-rnipJtMl  In  {\w  attack  upon  tlie  CaM-adt^,  wjw 
abandoned  hy  (Jolonrl  \\'niilit,  whost-  forws  eaunud  for  a  tiuu'  at 
The  DuiU's.  Two  block -houses  were  built  at  the  CaH<a<les,  one  at 
the  Upper  landing  and  one  at  tlie  Lower,  which  »vcrc  well  gar- 
riHoned  and  proviaioned.     A  large   block-house  was  also   built  at 


456 


IIISTORT  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Vancouver,  in  the  rear  of  tlie  barraiks.  Having  thus  fortified 
those  points  acainst  attack,  and  having  a  strong  force  at  The 
DalKs,  Colont'l  W  liglit  movrd  north  into  the  Vakinia  country,  ex- 
pecting t(»  form  a  junction  at  the  Natchcss  I'ass  witli  Cohniel 
Casey,  whom  he  had  (tnh'red  to  move  with  two  con)i»anies  across 
the  mountains  to  meet  liim.  His  olijci-t  was  not  to  make  an  attack 
upon  the  Indians,  Imt,  in  pursuance  of  the  instructions  of  General 
Wool,  to  meet  Kama-i-akun  in  council  jiml  agi'ee  upon  the  l)asis 
of  a  lasting  peace  lie  moved  iioith  early  in  May,  and  on  the 
eighth  met  the  Indians  near  the  Natchess  River.  He  undertook  to 
negoliate  with  them,  hut  failed  utterly  to  accomi)li>h  anything. 
On  the  ele\ent!i,  having  ascertained  that  at  lea>>t  one  thousand 
wai-riors  confronted  him,  representatives  heing  present  from  nearly 
all  the  disaifected  trihes,  he  dispatched  a  courier  t()  Tiie  Dalles  for 
reinfoi-ccmeiits.  Three  companies  at  once  moved  to  his  aid,  liaising 
his  etTective  force  to  tv.;>  hundred  and  iifty  men.  Thi-re  he  re- 
maine(i  for  several  weeks,  vainly  endeavoring  to  hold  a  council 
with  Kama-i-akun.  A  few  Indians  \  isited  his  camp  from  time  to 
time.  mor<'  for  the  ptu'pose  of  keeping  posted  on  his  movements 
than  anything  else,  but  no  chiefs  came  near  him.  He  constructed 
a  fort  on  the  hank  of  the  Natchess,  where  the  sti'eani  was  two 
hinidred  feet  wide  ;  and  the  Indians,  lia\  ing  heen  reduced  to  living 
upon  their  horses  and  what  salmon  could  he  caught,  moved  away. 
Colonel  Wright  then  returm-d  to  The  Dalles,  having  accomplished 
nothing  of  impoitance,  ludess  it  wa.s  to  more  Hinily  settle  the  In- 
dians in  their  previous  opinion  that  the  settlers  and  the  trooj)s 
were  distinct  pcoph  s,  and  the  hitter  woidd  not  aid  the  former  to 
tight  tliR-ni. 

?vleHnwhile,  the  two  coniymnies,  called  t)ut  l>y  (loverhor  (^tirry, 
had  taken  station  at  The  Dalles,  and  (Jovernor  Sti'veiis  was  jire- 
paring  for  a  camj)aign  (tn  his  own  accotuit.  He  was  fearful  that  if 
something  was  not  done  at  once  to  Inuidtle  tlie  llosllles,  they  woidd 
cx)rruj)t  the  Nez  Peices,  Spokanes,  (\»lvilles  and  Cieur  d'Alenes, 
and  a  most  powerful  coinhination  he  formed  against  the  whiteH. 
Quiet  had  heen  rest(»red  on  the  Soinid,  the  last  sign  of  war  lieing  a 
brief  ))attle  on  the  i\es(|uall\  early  in  Apiil,  between  Indians  and 
Caj>taii»  MaxoiTs  company.  Consecpu^ntly,  (iovenior  Stevens  began 
eai'ly  in  May,  while  Colonel  \N'right  was  in  the  Vukima  country,  to 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  V.OLONELR  WRIOHT,  RTT:PT0E  AND  SHAW.        467 

organize  a  forrp  to  accomplish  his  purpose  of  making  a  proper  dis- 
play of  power  where  it  would  have  the  de.sii-ed  effect.  His  ideas, 
plans  and  iiu  venu  uts  are  fully  detailed  in  the  following  extracts 
from  letters  aiUlressed  l»y  him  to  the  iSecretary  of  War,  at  Wash- 
ington. D.  C     On  the  twenty-third  of  May  Ik;  wi'ote : — 

Two  liundrfd  horHcmeii  on  the  Nutehess,  well  supiilicd,  nioiiiiti-il  niid  uiulcr  a 
vijjoroim  oHlrcr,  at  tliis  jiiiicturc,  will,  with  tlu'  oiMTiitlon  of  tlu?  rejjuUir  tiMojm, 
drive  liim  (till' vni'iny)  ncnisH  tlu'  I'oluinhiii.  TIiIm  force  I  iiiii  now  orpaiii/.iii^  at 
Canip  MoiitKoniery,  and  it  will  lie  ready  iii  ten  days.  In  this  \  iew  the  Walla 
Walla  country  niUHt  he  held;  eonmiunioation  In-  estahlished  witli  the  Nez  I'eree 
au.xiliarieH,  and  the  eni-niy  restrieteii  to  the  <;ountry  north  of  the  Snake,  and  on  the 
immediate  hankH  of  the  Colurnhia,  north  of  the  Snake.  I  am  organizing  a  force  of 
two  hnndred  men  to  occupy  the  Walla  Walla.  One  hundred  men  are  already  at 
The  Dalles.  They  will  move  with  one  hundred  days'  jirovisions,  and  some  to  spare 
for  tile  Nez  I'eree  auxiliaries  and  tlic  troops  which  may  he  concentrated  there  from 
the  Yakima  country.  Tlie  Yakima  and  Walla  Walla  conntry  firmly  held,  the 
passes  well  watched  over  the  Cascades,  the  main  force  of  the  enemy  on  the  Snake 
and  L'pper  (.'olumhia,  we  nuiy  then  he  ahle  to  disliand  the  hulk  of  the  remaining 
volunteers  on  the  Sound.  This  most  favoralde  view  of  the  progress  ot  the  war, 
which  can  not  he  developed  in  a  shorter  period  than  four  to  six  weeks,  will  jirac- 
tically  keep  in  service  all  the  volunteers  for  their  six  months'  term  of  service,  and 
nniy  render  it  necessary  to  extend  the  term  on  the  i)art  of  those  oecujiying  tlie 
Wallu  Walla.  *  *  Thus,  to  transler  f he  war  from  the  settlements  on  the 
Sound  and  the  ('olumliia  Hiver  to  the  interior,  to  strike  sucli  l)lows  as  o])portunilie8 
may  oflL-r,  an<l  to  he  in  readiness  to  prepare  for  a  vigorous  winter  campaign,  I  shall, 
in  ten  days,  he  ready  to  move  over  the  Natehess  with  two  hundred  horsemen  and 
one  hundred  and  tilty  pack  animals,  and  to  the  W'alla  Walla  witli  two  hundred 
horsemen  and  one  hundred  tlays'  provisions. 

Under  date  of  June  Sth,  he  says ; — 

The  two  exi)editi(»ns  rcferreil  to,  one  over  tiie  Cascade.s  into  the  Yakima 
country,  the  other  from  The  Dalles  to  the  Walla  Walla,  are  nearly  ready  for  the 
movements.  Holh  exjieditions  I  deem  of  vital  eonseiiuenee,  in  view  of  the  present 
condition  of  things  in  the  interior.  All  the  information  which  I  have  received, 
goes  to  satisfy  ne.-,  that  unless  the  most  vigorous  action  is  at  once  taken,  all  the 
trihes  from  the  i'ascades  to  the  Hitterroot  will  he  in  the  wai',  a  portion  of  the  Nez 
Pi;rei's  alone  excepted.  I  shall  tt)-niorrow  pusli  to  The  Dalles,  and  urge  the  Wallu 
Walla  expi'dition  forward  with  all  )iossil)le  dispatch.  I  trust  it  will  l>e  in  season. 
The  troops  all  reached  'I'he  Dalles  on  yesterday,  hut  it  was  supjiosed  that  a  portion 
of  the  animals  whi<h  were  taken  on  the  emigrant  trail  from  tlie  Willamette  to  I'lie 
Dalles,  will  he  a  day  or  two  hehind.  If  the  troops  reach  the  Walla  Walla  hefore  an 
overt  act  has  heen  committed,  1  am  certain  tliat  the  comljination  can  he  hrokeii  up, 
and  that  the  Nez  I'erees  and  the  Indians  on  and  in  the  iieiglihorhood  of  the 
Spokaiies  will  remain  friendly. 

July  7th,  the  (Governor  details  additional  events  as  follows  : — 

The  force  from  the  Round,  under  the  Immediate  command  of  IJeut.  Col.  IJ.  F. 
Shaw,  moved  from  Camp  Montgomery  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  June  11th 
and  12th,  and  crossing  the  mountains  with  the  loss  of  only  one  animal,  camped  on 
tb««  WeuasB  uu  the  tweutielb.    At  that  point  Lieutenaut-ColoDcl  Shaw  received 


458 


niSTORT  OF   WILLAMKTTK  VALLKY. 


ordorn  from  me  •<>  push  to  the  Wulla  Walla,  unite  IiIa  foroe  with  that  moving  from 
The  DalluH,  and  take  vominitnd  of  the  whole.  The  force  fnun  The  DalU>M  moved 
from  the  eamp  five  miles  Inyond  the  Den  ChiiteH  Ulver,  on  Wednesday,  June  2'>th, 
and  was  expected  to  reaeh  the  Walla  Walla  on  the  fourth  of  July.  Each  column 
numbered  nearly  two  hundred  men.  The  whole  force  conKiHts  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  enlisted  men,  and  al>ont  one  hundred  <|uarternui.stcran*t  Indian  employee. 
From  the  Walla  Walla,  Indian  supplies  will  In-  pushed  to  the  Nez  Perces  and 
Hpokanes,  and  an  i>scort  will  accompany  them,  should  the  simple  presence  of  a 
force  in  the  Walhi  Walla  valley  l>e  n>>t  suftlcicnt  to  insure  tiie  safety  of  the  train, 
protecteil,  as  it  is  e.x|VM-ted  it  will  !»♦•.  by  Indian  auxiliaries.  Letters  have  lieen 
received  from  Lieut.  I'ol.  Wm.  t'niig,  utivnt  of  the  Nez  Perces,  of  the  twenty-ninth 
of  May  and  eighth  of  June,  s|>eakin^  mon>  favoralily  of  the  condition  of  things  in 
the  interior.  Kama-i-akun,  at  a<-<>uncil  held  with  the  Spokanes  on  the  twentj-- 
flfth  of  May,  when-in  he  nrite<l  that  trilic  to  join  the  war.  received  a  ne>;a(ive  t()  his 
|)ropositi(Ui.  The  S|K)kani's,  however,  h«rl»or  the  hostile  Cayust^s.  which  has  caused 
nu!  to  he  soM'.cwhat  apprehensive  of  the  sinct-rity  of  their  prof4'ssioiis.  I  was  at 
The  Dalles  from  Saturday,  June  14ih,  to  Monday,  Juhe  .'iOtli,p'ltin(/lhe  exi)edition 
od'and  collecting  information  in  relation  to  the  Indians.  At  that  time  the  hostile 
bands  were  nmch  scattere<l.  Some  three  hundred  hostilcs  were  at  the  head  of  John 
Day's  River;  a  larue  camp  of  hostilcs,  supp<».«ed  to  be  Walla  Wallas  under  the  s(mi 
of  I'eu-i)eu-mox-mox,  were  at  Fort  Walla  Walla.  The  ("ay uses  were  on  the 
Hpokane.  The  Klickitats  and  Yakinias  were  on  ibc  I'isclioiise  lliver,  antl  probably 
snuill  parties  at  Priest's  Hapiils.  The  larjte  camp  reported  by  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Craig,  in  his  letter  of  May  -7th,  an<t  com|M>sc<i  of  individuals  of  sev(>ral  tribes,  in- 
cluding the  Snakes,  I  have  no  information  that  they  luive  moved  from  the  place 
where  they  were  when  (.'olonel  Craig  wrote.  There  were  Snakes  with  the  |)arty  at 
the  head  of  .lohn  Day's  Uiver,  and  tlie  fon-e  was  increasing.  It  is  proposed  to 
strike  the  party  at  the  head  of  John  Day's  Hiver,  liy  a  force  of  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  men,  consisting  of  one  hundred  volunteers  of  Oregon,  under 
Major  Layton,  and  seventy-five  volunteers  of  Washington,  under  Captain  Ciort". 
The  plan  was  to  move  from  Well  Springs  on  the  thirtieth  of  June,  wldch  point  Is 
on  the  endgrant  road,  some  eiglity-five  milcH  fnun  The  Dalles. 


The  force  which  thi;.-!  invjulcd  the  Walla  Walla  country  was 
known  officially  a.s  the  "Secoml  llegiineiit  W.  T.  Aloiuitctl  Volun- 
teers," and  was  under  the  command  of  Colonel  B.  F.  Sluiw.  The 
Lietitenant-C'olonel  was  William  ('rait;,  the  old  mountaineer  who 
was  living  among  the  Xez  I\-rces,  and  had  organized  a  conqtany  «tf 
sixty  of  these  friendly  Indians  to  c<»-o|ierate  with  the  vohinteers. 
They  wt're  led  Uy  Sj>«»tt«Ml  Kagle.  (icorge  Blankcnsliip  and  11.  J. 
G.  Maxou  were  Majoi"s  of  the  first  ami  second  Kattalions.  There 
were  six  companies  of  vohuiteers,  aimnuiting  t<>  a  total  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  one  each  raised  by  II.  J.  G.  Maxon  in 
Clarke  County  ;  by  Captain  Achilles  on  Lewis  Kiver  ;  by  B.  L. 
Henness  in  Thurston  County,  and  by  Bluford  Miller  and  M.  P. 
Goff  in  the  Willamette  Valley.  The  two  Oregon  companies,  re- 
ferred to  in  the  Governor's  letters,  as  commanded  by  Major  Lay- 


CAMPAIG^fS  OF  COLONELS  WniOIIT,  STKPTOK  AND  finAW.        459 


nj 

Hi 


ton,    were    those   calltMl    ont    by   (iovcrnor    Curry,    to   guard  the 
Colunihia. 

Immediately  after  fjoiiiij  into  camp  on  Mill  Cieek,  two  miles 
above  the  present  eity  of  Walla  Walla,  one  hnndre(|  nude  packs  of 
Indian  supplies  were  sent  with  a  liirht  escort  to  the  friendly  Nez 
Perces,  under  the  charu'e  of  A.  II.  l{<»l»i<',  as  spei-ial  a<r<'nt.  On 
the  fourteenth  of  July  C'olonel  Shaw  moved  with  one  hundred  and 
sixty  men  and  ten  days'  rations,  to  attack  a  hand  of  hostiles  who 
were  reported  as  concenti'atin<;  in  tin-  (Jrand  Ifonde  X'alley.  lie 
was  guiiled  throiii^di  the  Blue  Mountains  l»y  Captain  John,  a  Nez 
J*eree  chief.  The  following  account  of  his  movements  is  taken 
from  his  official  rei>ort : — 

We  arrived  in  tlu'  (iraml  Uundt'  Valley  on  tlie  t-veiiiiiK  of  tiic  Hixleentli,  and 
camped  on  a  l>rancli  of  tlu-  (iraml  Uimde  Hiver  in  the  tirnl>er,  Hendin^  H|iii'H  in  ati- 
vance,  wlio  retiirnctl  and  reported  no  (waU  sifjn.  On  tlie  morning'  tif  tlie  seNcn- 
teentli,  ItMivin;;  .Major  l>lani(en.sliip  of  tlie  Central,  and  Captain  .Miller  ol'  the  Soutli- 
ern  haltaliiiiiH,  ansisled  liy  Captain  Dehaey,  to  take  np  the  line  nf  mareli  for  the 
main  valley,  1  proceeded  ahead  to  reconnoitre,  aeeoinpanicd  hy  Major  .Ma.xon,  Mi- 
chael Marehmean,  Captain  .lolm,  and  Dr.  ItiirnH.  Alter  proeeediiiKahout  livemilcH 
we  ascended  a  Unoll  in  the  valley,  Iroin  which  we  discovered  dii.st  ari.HiiiK  along  the 
timher  of  the  river.  I  itnniediately  sent  .Major  .Ma.xon  and  Captain  John  forward 
t<>  reconnoitre,  and  retinned  to  luirry  up  the  coinniand  which  was  not  far  distant. 
Tl)e  connnand  was  instantly  fornie<l  in  onler;  Captain  Miller's  company  in  ad- 
vance, supported  liy  .Ma.xon,  Meniicss  and  Powell's  companies;  leaving  the  pack 
train  in  ehar^^e  of  the  guard  under  Lli'utenant  (Joodwin,  with  a  di-taclimenl  of 
(ioll's  company  under  liieutcnant  Wait  ;  and  liieutcnant  William's  company  in 
reserve,  with  orders  to  follow  on  after  the  connnand. 

The  whole  command  moved  on  <|uietly  in  this  order,  until  within  half  a  mile  of 
the  Indian  village,  where  we  discovered  tluit  the  pack  train  had  moved  to  the  left, 
down  the  (Jrand  Konde  llivcr.  At  this  momunt,  a  large  hody  of  warriors  came 
forward,  singing  and  wlioopiug,  and  one  of  them,  waving  a  white  man's  scalp  on 
a  pole.  One  of  them  slgnilled  u  desire  to  speak,  whereupon  1  sent  Captuin  John 
to  meet  liim  and  formed  the  command  in  Uneof  hattle.  When  Captain  John  came 
up  to  the  Indians,  they  eried'out  to  one  another  to  shoot  him,  when  he  retreated  to 
the  connnand,  and  1  ordered  the  four  companies  to  charge. 

The  design  of  the  enemy  evidently  was  to  draw  us  into  the  lirush  along  the 
river,  where,  from  our  expoj^ed  position,  they  would  have  the  advantage — they  no 
d  ;ul>i,  h.ving  placeil  an  amhush  there.  To  avoid  this,  I  charged  down  the  river 
t«  ward  the  pack  train.  The  warriors  then  split,  part  going  across  the  river,  ai  d 
pi  rf,  down  toward  the  pack  train.  These  were  .soon  overtaken  and  engaged.  The 
chcTge  v-itH  vigorous  and  so  well  sustained  that  tliey  were  l)roken,  dispersed  and 
slain  Liclore  lis.  After  a  shor'.  time,  I  sent  Captain  Miller  to  tlie  left  ami  .Major 
Maxon  to  the  right,  the  latter  to  cross  the  strcum  and  cut  them  of!" from  a  point 
near  which  a  large  hody  of  warriors  liad  collected,  apparently  to  light,  while  I 
moved  forward  with  the  coimnands  of  Captain  Henness  and  Lieutenant  Powell  to 
attack  them  in  front.  The  Major  could  not  cross  the  river,  and,  on  our  moving 
forward  the  enemy  tied,  after  Uriug  a  few  ^aa,  part  taking  to  tiie  left,  and  part 
coDtiauing  forward. 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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HI8T0BT  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


Those  who  took  to  the  left  fell  in  with  f'aptalu  Miller's  company,  who  killed 
five  on  the  spot,  and  the  rest  were  not  less  suecessful  in  the  pursuit,  which  was  con- 
tinued to  the  crossing  of  the  river,  where  the  enemy  had  taken  a  stand  to  defend 
the  ford.  Being  here  rejoined  by  Captain  Miller  and  by  Lieutenant  Curtis  with 
part  ot  Maxon's  company,  we  tired  a  volley,  and  I  ordered  a  charge  across  the  river, 
which  was  gallantly  executed.  In  doing  this.  Private  Shirley  Ensign  of  Henness' 
company,  who  was  in  the  front,  was  wounded  in  the  face  vSeveral  of  the  enemy 
were  killed  at  this  point.  We  continued  the  pursuit  until  the  enemy  had  reached 
the  rocky  canyons  leading  towards  Powder  river  and  commenced  scattering  in  ev- 
ery direction,  wlien,  rtnding  that  I  had  but  tive  men  witli  me,  and  the  rest  of  the 
command  scattered  in  the  rear,  most  of  the  horses  being  completely  exhausted — 1 
called  a  halt,  and  fell  back,  calculating  to  remount  the  men  on  the  captured  horses 
and  continue  the  pursuit  after  niglit. 

I  found  the  pack  train,  guard  and  reserve,  encamped  on  a  small  creek  not  far 
from  the  crossing,  as  I  had  previously  ordered  them  to  do,  anu  learned  that  a  body 
of  the  enemy  had  followed  them  up  all  day,  and  annoyed  tlunn,  but  had  inllicted 
no  danuvge  beyond  capturing  many  of  the  animals  which  we  had  taken  in  charge, 
and  left  behind. 

I  learned,  also,  that  Major  Maxon  had  crossed  the  river  with  a  small  party,  and 
was  engage<l  with  the  enemy,  and  wanted  assistance.  I  immediately  dispatched  a 
detachment  under  Lieutenants  Williams  and  Wait,  sending  the  man  who  brought 
the  infornuxtion  l)ack  with  them  as  a  guide.  They  returned  after  dark,  without  tlnd- 
Ing  the  Major,  but  brought  in  one  of  his  men  whom  they  found  in  the  brush,  and 
who  stated  that  one  of  the  Major's  men  was  killed,  and  that  the  last  he  saw  of  them 
they  were  lighting  with  the  Indians,  At  daylight  I  sent  out  Captain  Miller  with 
seventy  men,  wlio  scouted  around  the  whole  valley  without  rtnding  him,  but  who, 
unfortunately,  had  one  man  killed  and  another  wounded  wliilst  pursuing  some  In- 
dians I  resolved  to  move  cami)  the  next  <lay  to  the  head  of  the  valley,  where  the 
emigrant  trail  crosses  it,  and  continue  the  search  until  we  became  certain  of  their 
fate.  The  same  evening  I  took  sixty  men  under  Captain  lienne^s,  and  struck  upon 
the  mountain  and  crossed  the  heads  of  the  canyons  to  see  if  1  could  not  strike  his 
trail.  Finding  no  sign  I  returned  to  the  place  where  the  Major  had  last  l)een  seen, 
and  there  made  search  in  dillerent  directions,  and  finally  found  the  body  of  one  of 
his  men  (Tooley)and  where  the  Major  had  encamped  in  the  brush.  From  other 
signs  it  became  evident  to  me  that  the  Major  had  returned  to  this  post  by  the  same 
trail  by  wliich  we  first  entered  the  valley. 

Being  nearly  out  of  provisions,  and  unable  to  follow  the  Indians  fnuii  this 
delay,  I  concluded  to  return  to  camp,  recruit  for  another  expedition  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Cai)tain  Gotl",  who  had,  I  presumed,  returned  from  his  expedition  to  John 
Day's  Kiver. 

I  should  have  mentioned  previously  that  in  the  charj^e,  the  comnumd  captured 
and  afterwards  destroyed  about  one  hundred  and  flfty  hcu'se  loads  lacamas,  dried 
beef,  tents,  some  Hour,  coffee,  sugar,  and  about  one  hundred  pounds  of  ammunition 
and  a  great  quantity  of  tools  and  kitchen  furniture.  We  took  also  about  two  hun- 
dred horses,  most  of  which  were  shot,  tliere  being  but  about  one  hundred  service- 
able animals. 

There  were  present  on  the  ground  from  what  I  saw,  and  from  information  re- 
ceived from  two  scjuawa  taken  prisoners,  about  three  hundn  l  warriors  of  the  Cay- 
use,  Walla  Walla,  Umatilla,  Tygli,  John  Dcy  and  DesChutes  tribes,  commanded  by 
the  following  chiefs:  8tock  Whitley  and  Bim-mis-tas-tas  (DesChutes  and  Tygh)  ; 
Cbiuk-iab,  Plyou,  Wic-e-cai,  Wat-uh-stuartih,  Win-im-suoot  (Cayuses) ;  Tah-kiu 
Cayuae,  the  bod  of  Peu-peu-mox-ixiox  (Walla  Walla),  and  other  oblef*  of  lew  Qot«. 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  COLONELS  WRIGHT,  STEPTOE  AND  SHAW.       461 


led 
on- 
mcl 
ith 
■er, 


The  whole  command,  officers  and  men,  behaved  well.  The  enemy  was  run  on 
the  gallop  fifteen  miles,  and  most  of  them  who  fell  wore  shot  with  the  revolver. 
It  ia  imijossible  to  state  how  mitiy  of  the  enemy  were  killed.  Twenty-seven  bodies 
were  counted  by  one  individual,  and  many  others  wo  know  to  have  fallen  and  been 
left,  but  were  so  scattered  about  tliat  it  was  impossible  to  get  count  of  them.  When 
to  these  we  add  tliose  killed  Ijy  Major  Maxon's  command  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  at  leasi  forty  of  the  enemy  were  slain,  and 
many  went  off"  wounded.  AVJien  we  left  the  valley  there  was  not  an  Indian  in  it ; 
and  all  the  signs  went  to  sIdw  that  they  had  gone  a  great  distance  from  it. 

On  the  twenty-first  instant  we  left  tlie  valley  by  the  emigrant  road,  and  com- 
menced our  return  to  camp.  During  the  night  Lieutenant  Hunter,  of  the  VVash- 
ington  Territory  volunteers,  came  into  camp  with  an  e,Ki)ress  from  Captain  Gofl'. 
I  learned,  to  my  surprise,  that  the  ('aj>tain  and  Major  Luyton  had  seen  Indians 
on  .John  Day's  River  ;  had  followed  them  over  to  the  head  of  Burnt  River,  and  had 
!iad  a  tight  with  them,  in  wliich  Lieutenant  Eustus  and  one  private  were  killed, 
and  ■<onie  seven  Indians.  They  were  shaping  tlitMr  course  for  the  Grand  Ronde 
Valley,  and  had  sent  for  jirovisions  aiul  fresh  horses.  I  immediately  sent  Lieuten- 
ant Willianjs  back  witl)  all  my  spare  provisions  and. horses,  and  continued  my 
march.  On  Wild  Horse  ("reoK  I  came  across  Mr.  Fites,  a  pack  master,  who  had 
been  left  in  camj).  who  informed  me,  to  Jny  extreme  satisfaction,  that  Major  Maxon 
and  his  command  arrivi'd  safe  in  camp,  and  were  then  near  us  with  provisions  and 
ammunition.    TIk'^sc  I  sent  ou  imme<liately  to  Captain  GofT. 

I  learned  that  Major  Maxon  had  l)een  attjicked  in  the  valley  by  a  large  force  of 
Indians  on  the  day  of  the  llirht;  had  gaineil  tlie  brush  and  killed  many  of  them; 
that  at  night  he  tried  to  find  our  camp,  and  hearing  a  noise  like  a  child  crying, 
probably  one  of  the  captured  s<iuaws.  had  concluded  that  my  command  had  gone  on 
to  Powder  River,  and  tliut  the  Indians  had  returned  to  the  valley  by  another  can- 
yon. He  niove<l  his  position  that  night,  and  the  next  day  saw  the  scout  looking  for 
him.  but  in  the  distaixe  thouglit  it  was  a  t)and  of  Indians  hunting  his  trail.  C'on- 
ceivirg  himself  cut  off"  from  the  command,  he  thought  it  best  to  return  to  his  (iamp, 
thinking  that  we  w<uld  be  <m  our  way  back  to  Grand  Ronde  with  provisions  and 
ammunition. 

The  force  under  Cjiptain  F.  M.  P.  Goff,  seventy-five  men,  and 
Major  Layton,  one  Imndred  men,  had  moved  up  the  John  Day,  and 
crossinir  tlie  Blue  Mountains  reached  the  vicinity  of  Burnt  River  on 
the  twelfth  of  July.  Owing  to  severe  illness  of  Captain  Goff,  he 
was  forced  to  remain  in  camp  until  the  fifteenth,  with  a  portion  of 
his  command,  while  the  remainder  of  the  force,  under  Major  Lay- 
ton,  was  scouting  in  search  of  the  enemy.  Layton's  scouts  reached 
the  heatl  of  Burnt  River  on  the  fifteenth  and  camped,  when  Ideu- 
tenant  John  Eustus,  with  two  men,  proposed  tiscending  a  neighbor- 
ing bluff  to  get  a  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  They  were 
advised  not  to  attempt  it,  but  determined  to  do  so,  and,  tis  they  ap- 
proached the  summit,  were  fired  upon  by  ambushed  hostiles,  the 
Lieutenant  and  Daniel  Smith  of  Company  K  being  killed.  The 
third  ma!i  made  a  miraculous  escape,  and  was  met  in  his  wild  flight 
by  comrades;  coming  to  his  assistance,  before  he  reached  the  camp 


462 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


that  lay  in  plain  view  below.  Lieutenant  Hunter,  at  the  head  of 
his  command,  charged  up  the  hill,  drove  the  Indians  off  from  it,  re- 
covered the  bodies  of  the  dead  soldiers,  and  then  fell  back  to  camp. 
The  next  morning  found  them  suri'ounded  by  the  enemy,  and  a 
skirmishing  engagement  followed  thi'ough  the  day,  which  resulted 
in  nothing  decisive  except  the  wounding  of  one  soldier  named 
Cheney,  the  wounding  of  one,  and  killing  of  three  Indians.  On  the 
seventeenth,  as  Captain  Goff  approached  the  battle  gi-ound  with 
liis  company,  the  hostiles  disa])peared,  and,  on  the  eigiiteenth,  the 
line  of  march  in  the  direction  of  Grand  Ronde  was  resumed.  Form- 
ing a  junction  with  Major  Maxon,  both  forces  moved  to  the  general 
cam[)  on  Mill  Creek. 

In  the  battles  on  Burnt  Iliver  and  in  Grand  Ronde  Valley,  the 
following  casualties  occurred:  Killed,  Lieutenant  John  Eustus,  and 
privates  Daniel  Smith,  William  Holmes,  of  Comj)any  K;  William 
Irven,  William  F.  Tooley,  of  Company  A.  Wounded,  James  Che- 
ney, of  Company  K;  Thomas  Conio,  of  Company  A;  Shirley  En- 
sign, of  Company  C;  William  Downy,  of  Company  D;  T.  N.  Lilley, 
of  Com])any  1. 

When  Colonel  Shaw  reached  Mill  Creek,  he  found  Agent  Robie 
there,  having  l)een  ordered  out  of  the  Nez  Perce  country  with  his 
goods,  and  having  made  a  forced  mai'ch  of  one  hundred  miles  to 
reach  a  place  of  safety.  From  this  it  was  apparent  that  the  war 
party  in  that  tribe  had  gained  the  ascendency.  The  danger  which 
(Governor  Stevens  had  feared  was  imminent;  but  Colonel  Shaw 
acted  2:>romptly  in  the  emergency,  using  the  prestige  of  his  recent 
victory  at  Grand  Ronde  to  the  l)e8t  possible  advantage.  He  sent 
the  Nez  Perce  chief.  Captain  John,  to  his  countrymen  at  Lapwai 
with  intelligence  of  recent  events;  and  ciiarged  him  to  convey  to 
them  the  following  message:  "  I  am  your  friend.  I  have  not  come 
to  fight  you,  but  the  hostiles;  but,  if  you  beat  your  drums  for  war, 
I  will  parade  my  men  for  battle."  This  news  and  message  was 
enough.  The  peace  party  again  gained  control  of  the  tribe  and  the 
threatened  danger  was  averted.  Had  the  Nez  Perces  gone  to  war, 
every  tribe  between  the  Cascade  and  Rocky  Mountains  would  have 
joined  in  a  war  of  extermination,  and  the  settlements  on  Puget 
Sound,  in  the  Willamette  Valley  and  in  Southern  Oregon  would 
have  been  hemmed  in  and  threatened,  if  not  actually  attacked,  by 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  COLONELS  WRIGHT,  STEPTOE  AND  SHAW.       468 

a  cordon  of  warriore  extending  from  California  to  British  Colurab'a 
until  a  sufficient  force  of  troops  could  be  sent  to  their  relief.    What 
horrors  might  have  resulted,  appals  the  mind  to  contemplate. 

Colonel  Shaw  remained  in  camp  on  Mill  Creek  to  hold  the  key 
to  the  Indian  country  and  retain  the  advantages  gained  by  so 
great  a  sacrifice.  Meanwhile,  Colonel  Wright  had  returned  to  The 
Dalles  from  his  fruitless  expedition  into  the  Yakima  country,  and 
proceeded  to  carry  out  his  previous  design  of  establishing  a 
military  post  in  the  AValJa  AValla  country,  which  had  been  so 
hastily  abandoned  when  the  attack  was  made  upon  the  Cascades. 
He  assigned  this  duty  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  E.  J,  Steptoe,  placing 
at  his  disposal  a  battalion  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  It  was 
then  determined  to  do  what  should  have  been  done  in  the  first 
place — to  notify  the  people  that  the  treaties  were  not  yet  in  force, 
and  every  one  must  remain  out  of  the  Indian  country  until  the 
pending  treaties  were  ratified,  except  the  servants  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  and  others  who,  like  that  corporation,  had  made 
special  arrangements  with  the  Indians.  Before  starting,  therefore, 
Colonel  Steptoe  made  the  following  announcement : — 

Fort  Dalles,  O.  T.,  August  20,  1856. 
The  undersigned,  having  been  designated  to  estiiblish  a  military  post  in  the 
Walla  Walla  country,  and  with  a  view  to  prevent  all  misunderstanding  on  the  sub- 
ject, believes  it  proper  to  make  known  the  following  instruction  he  has  received 
from  the  Pacific  Military  Department:— 

"No  emigrant  or  other  white  person,  except  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or 
persons  having  ceded  rights  from  the  Indians,  will  be  permitted  to  settle  or  to  re- 
main in  the  Indian  country,  or  on  land  not  settled,  or  not  confirmed  by  the  Senate 
and  approved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States." 

These  orders  are  not,  however,  to  apply  to  the  miners  engaged  in  collecting  gold 
at  Colville  mines. 

[Signed]  E.  J.  STEPTOE, 

Brevet  Colonel  U.  8.  A. 

Five  days  before  the  issuance  of  this  proclamation,  Governor 
Stevens,  having  conferred  with  Colonel  Wright  as  to  his  plans, 
went  up  to  the  Walla  Walla  camp  for  the  purpose  -of  mustering 
out  the  volunteers,  whose  term  of  service  expired  on  the  eighth  of 
September,  as  soon  as  Steptoe  should  arrive  to  relieve  them.  He 
also  proposed  to  hold  councils  with  the  tribes  and  agree  upon 
terms  of  a  pei'manent  peace.  When  he  arrived  at  Colonel  Shaw's 
camp,  on  Mill  Creek,  near  the  present  city  of  Walla  Walla,  he 
sent  out  runners  to  all  the  tribes,  inviting  them  to  attend  a  general 


484 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


council  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley.  Colonel  Steptoe  arrived  on 
the  fifth  of  September,  and  went  into  camp,  five  miles  below  the 
proposed  ooimcil  ground.  What  occuri'ed  there  is  related  by 
Governor  Stevens  in  a  letter  to  the  Secn^tary  of  War,  and,  in 
perusing  it  the  reader  is  cautioned  to  keep  constantly  in  mind  the 
strong  prejudices  and  marked  egotism  of  the  author.  The  events 
related  are  no  doubt  correct,  but  inferences  drawn  and  opinions 
expressed  fall  short  of  doing  full  justice  to  the  regulars,  or  repre- 
senting tli(Mr  conduct  in  the  proper  light.  Throughout  the  whole 
war,  as  lias  been  amply  shown  by  previous  events,  he  acted  as 
though  every  one,  including  the  officers  of  the  regular  army,  must 
bend  to  liis  ideas  ;  everything  must  be  measured  with  his  tape  line  ; 
liis  idea  of  co-operation  was  for  the  regulars  to  be  guided  entirely 
by  him  ;  when  they  failed  so  to  do  he  freely  charged  them  with 
incompetency  and  willful  misconduct,  and  in  that  spirit  this  letter 
was  written.     It  says  : — 

On  the  evening  of  the  tenth,  the  Indians  being  all  in  except  the  Yaklinas,  and 
none  friendly  except  a  portion  of  the  Nez  Perces,  and  orders  having  lieen  given  to 
all  the  volunteers  to  go  home  the  next  day,  I  made  a  requisition  ujjon  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Steptoe  for  two  companies  of  his  troops  and  his  mountain  howitzers, 
and  to  my  surjjrise,  learned  from  Ills  answer  that  he  had  moved  his  camp  to  a  point 
on  Mill  Creek  some  seven  or  eight  miles  above  my  camp,  and  that  his  orders  from 
General  Wool  did  not  allow  him  to  comply  with  my  requisition.  I  say  to  my  sur- 
prise, for  in  my  interview  with  Colonel  Wright  at  Vancouver,  referred  to  in  my 
report  of  the  fourteenth  of  August,  I  understood,  as  I  went  to  the  inten.r  in  my 
capacity  simply  of  Superintendent  of  Indian  Atrairs,  that  in  effecting  the  objects  of 
the  council,  I  was  to  have  the  co-operation  of  the  military  force  he  was  about  to  send 
there ;  a  co-operation  which  the  good  of  the  service  most  urgently  demanded.  I 
had  already  raised  nearly  two  hundred  six  months'  men  to  strengthen  the  command 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw,  under  a  proclamation  issued  immediately  after  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  news  of  tlie  battle  of  Grand  Ronde,  and  I  had  four  months'  supplies  to 
subsist  them.  This  proclamation  was  revoked  on  my  arrival  at  Vancouver,  and  the 
troops  raised  under  It  disbanded.  In  Interviews  held  afterwards  with  Colonel 
Wright  at  The  Dalles,  I  dwelt  upon  theolijects  to  be  gained  by  the  council ;  referred 
to  the  effect  of  the  presence  of  his  troops  there,  and  left  him  witli  the  belief,.that  It 
was  an  arranged  and  agreed  on  thing  between  the  Colonel  and  myself,  that  I  v«8 
to  have  the  countenance  and  support  of  the  regular  force  in  the  Walla  Walla  to 
carry  into  efTect  the  beneficent  designs  of  the  council.  Colonel  Wrii?ht  stated  that 
other  duties  would  prevent  his  accompanying  me ;  that  he  had  entire  confidence  la 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Steptoe,  the  officer  in  command,  and  his  presence  would  be  un- 
necessary. Accordingly,  previous  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Steptoe'a  reaching  the 
valley,  I  sent  him  two  letters,  each  urging  him  to  camp  near  me  ;  my  object  being 
to  show  the  Indians  the  strength  of  our  people,  and  the  unity  of  our  (M)uncils ;  and 
I  also  wrote  Captain  D.  Russell,  on  his  way  from  the  Yakimas  with  three  com- 
panies, to  the  saine  effect.  On  the  arrival  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Steptoe  in  the 
valley,  I  urged  him  persoually  to  camp  uear  me.    The  rsquisitiou  was  refused  and 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  COLONELS  WRIGHT,  STKPTOE  AND  SHAW.        MiO 


I  was  therefore  obliged  to  countermand  the  order  seudiuif  lioiiii'  the  voluiitoerM 
whose  terra  of  enlistment  had  all  expired,  and  of  which  only  GoiT's  company,  sixty- 
nine  rank  and  file,  remained,  a  portion  of  whom  were  on  tlujir  way  down,  and  had 
to  be  called  back.    This  force  only  remained  to  guard  my  camp. 

The  council  opened  on  the  eleventh  &ud  continued  on  tlio  twelftli  and  thirteentli, 
when  so  alarming  was  tlie  condition  of  affairs,  that  I  det'iiiud  it  my  duty,  on  the 
morning  of  the  thiriucnth,  to  address  a  confidential  note  to  Steptoe,  advising  him 
that  one-half  of  the  Nez  Perces  were  unquestionably  hostile;  that  all  the  otiiei' 
tribes  were  hostile,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  and  that  a  company  of  his  tro<)])s 
was  essential  to  the  security  of  my  camp  ;  and  at  his  suggestion  1  moved  my  party, 
train  and  supplies,  with  (jofT's  company  of  volunteers,  to  tlic  vicinity  of  liis  camp. 
I  met  Karaa-i-akun  and  liis  followers  on  my  way  tliere,  anil  it  is  pn)l)ably  owing  to 
:^o  one  being  advised  of  my  intention  to  move  till  the  order  was  given  an  hour  i>c- 
fore  I  started,  that  I  was  not  attacked  on  the  road.  Kama-i-ukun  liail  unijuestion- 
ably  an  understanding,  as  subseipient  events  showed,  witli  all  llic  Imiians,  except 
the  friendly  Nez  Perces  (about  one-half  the  nation),  and  a  small  number  of  friendly 
Indians  of  the  other  tribes,  to  make  an  attack  that  day  or  evening  iijion  my  (^anip. 
He  found  me  on  the  roarl  to  his  great  surprise,  and  had  no  time  to  perfect  his  ar- 
rangements. I  had  learned  in  the  niglit  that  Kama-i-akun  liad  encamped  on  the 
Touchet  the  night  before,  and  that  he  would  be  in  this  day.  The  council  reopened 
on  the  sixteenth ;  all  the  Indians  were  camped  near,  Kama-i-akun  and  his  banc^ 
being  only  separated  from  the  council  ground  by  a  narrow  skirt  of  woods  in  the 
bottom  of  Mill  Creek;  and  was  closed  the  next  day,  all  my  ettorts,  both  to  make  an 
arrangement  with  the  hostiles,  and  to  do  away  with  the  disaffection  of  the  Ne/. 
Perces  having  proved  abortive.  On  the  eighteenth,  at  a  separate  (council  with  the 
Nez  Perces,  all,  both  hostile  and  friendly  Xez  Perces,  advised  the  sub-agent,  Wm. 
Craig,  not  to  return  to  the  Nez  Perce  country  as  his  life  would  be  in  danger,  and 
they  were  afraid  he  would  be  killed.  At  the  conclusion  of  this  council,  in  a  brief 
address  to  tlie  Indians,  I  expressed  my  regrets  that  I  had  failed  in  )ny  mission  ; 
that  no  one  said  "  Yes  "  to  my  propositions,  and  now  had  only  to  say,  "  Follow  your 
own  hearts;  those  who  wish  to  go  into  war,  go."  My  propositions  were  uncondi- 
titmal  submission  to  the  justice  and  mercy  of  che  Government,  and  the  rendition 
for  trial  of  murderers. 

In  the  afternoon  Lieutenant-Colonel  Steptoe  informed  these  Indians  that  he 
came  there  to  estsiblish  a  jjost,  not  co  fight  them  ;  trusted  they  should  get  along  as 
friends,  and  appointed  the  next  day,  a  little  after  noon,  for  a  special  conference. 
The  Indians  did  not,  however,  come  to  see  Steptoe  at  the  time  appointed.  They 
jireviously  set  fire  to  his  grass,  and  following  me  a«  I  set  out  about  eleven  o'.'lock 
on  my  way  to  The  Dalles,  they  attacked  me  within  three  miles  of  Steptoe's  camp 
at  al>out  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  So  satisfied  was  I  that  the  Indians  would 
carry  into  effect  their  avowed  determination  in  the  councils  in  their  own  camps  for 
several  nights  previously  to  attack  me,  that,  in  starting  T  formed  my  whole  party 
and  moved  in  order  of  battle.  I  moved  on  under  fire  one  mile  to  water,  when 
forming  a  corral  of  the  wagons  and  holding  the  adjacent  hills  and  the  brush  on  the 
stream  by  pickets,  I  made  my  arrangements  to  defend  my  position  and  fight  the 
Indians.  Our  position  in  a  low  open  basin,  five  or  six  hundred  yards  across,  was 
good,  and  with  the  aid  of  our  corral,  we  could  defend  ourf^elves  against  a  vastly 
superior  force  of  the  enemy.  The  fight  continued  till  late  in  the  night.  Two 
charges  were  made  to  disperse  the  Indians,  the  last  led  by  Lieutenant-Colonel 
iShaw  in  person  with  twenty-four  men  ;  but,  whilst  driving  before  him  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  an  equal  number  pushed  into  his  rear,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  cut  his  way  through  them  towards  camp,  when,  drawing  up  his  men,  and 
aided  by  the  t^amstei's  and  pickets,  who  gallantly  sprang  forward,  he  drove  the 


4<J6 


UlSTOUY  OF   WILLAMKTTK  VALLKV. 


IndlaiiH  buck  in  full  charge  upon  the  corral.  Just  before  the  charge  the  friendly 
Nez  Perces,  fifty  In  number,  who  had  been  assigned  to  hold  the  ridge  on  the  south 
side  of  the  corral,  were  told  by  the  enemy,  they  came  not  to  light  tlie  Ncz  Perces, 
but  tlie  whitest.  "f!o  to  your  camp,"  said  they,  'or  wc  will  wipe  it  out!"  Their 
camp,  with  the  women  and  children,  was  on  a  stream  about  a  mile  distant ;  and  T 
directed  tliem  to  retire  as  I  did  not  require  their  assistance,  and  was  iVnrt'ul  that  my 
men  might  not  be  able  to  distinguish  them  from  hostiles,  and  thus  friendly  Indians 
be  killed. 

Towards  niglit  I  notified  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bteptoe  that  I  was  flgliting  the 
Indians;  that  I  should  move  tl»e  next  morning,  and  expri's-st'd  the  opinion  that  a 
company  of  his  troops  would  be  of  service.  In  his  r('i)ly  he  stated  that  the  Indians 
had  burnt  up  his  grass,  and  suti'gested  that  I  should  return  to  his  cam|i,  and  place 
at  his  disposal  njy  wagons,  in  order  that  he  might  move  his  whole  conmiand  and 
his  supplies  to  the  Uuiatilla  or  some  other  point,  where  sustenance  could  be  found 
for  his  aninuds.  To  this  arrangement  I  assented,  and  IJeutcnant-C'olonel  Steptoe 
sent  to  my  camp  liieutenant  Davidson,  with  detachments  from  tlie  '•omi)anies  of 
tlragoons  and  artillery  with  a  mountain  howitzer.  They  reached  my  camp  alwut 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  cverytliing  in  good  order,  and  mosi  of  the  men  at  the 
corral  asleep.  A  i)icket  had  been  driven  in  an  hour  and  a  half  before  by  the 
enemy:  that  on  the  hill  soutli  of  the  corral,  Imt  the  eiieiiiy  was  immediately  dis- 
lodged and  ground  pits  being  dug,  all  the  points  were  held.  The  howitzer  having 
been  fired  on  the  way  out,  it  was  believed  nothing  would  be  gained  by  waiting  till 
morning,  and  the  whole  force  immediately  returned  to  Tiicutenant-Colonel  Step- 
toe's  camp.  8oon  after  sunrise,  Ihe  enemy  attacked  the  camp,  but  were  simju  dis- 
lodged by  the  liowitzer  and  a  charge  l)y  a  detachment  from  ytei)toe's  comiiiand. 
On  my  arrival  at  the  cam  J),  1  urged  Lieutenant-Colonel  8tcptoo  to  build  a  block- 
house immediately ;  to  leave  one  company  to  defend  it  with  all  his  supplies ;  theq 
to  march  below  and  return  with  an  additional  force  and  additional  supplies,  and 
l)y  a  vigorous  winter  campaign  to  whip  the  Indians  into  submission.  I  placed  at 
ids  disposal  for  the  building,  my  teams  and  Indian  employes.  The  l>lock-house 
and  stockade  were  built  in  a  little  more  than  ten  days.  My  FrMlian  storeroom  wan 
rebuilt  at  one  corner  of  the  stockade.  On  the  twenty -third  September,  we  started 
for  The  Dalles,  which  we  reached  on  the  second  October.  Nothing  of  interest 
occurred  on  the  road. 

In  the  action  of  the  nineteenth,  my  wliole  force  consisted  of  Golf's  com])any  of 
sixty-nine  rank  and  file,  the  teamsters,  herders  and  Indian  employes,  numbering 
about  fifty  men.  Our  train  consisted  of  about  five  hundred  animals,  not  one  of 
which  was  captured  by  the  enemy.  We  fought  four  hundred  and  fifty  Indians, 
and  had  one  man  mortally,  one  dangerously,  and  two  slightly  wounded.  We 
killed  and  wounded  thirteen  Indians.  One-half  the  Ncz  Perces,  one  luuulred  and 
twenty  warriors,  all  of  the  Yaklmas  and  Palouse,  two  hundred  warriors  ;  the  great 

bulk  of  the  Cayuses  and  Umatlllas,     -— -: —  warriors; of  the  Walla 

Wallas  and  Indians  from  other  bands,  were  in  the  fight.  The  principal  war  chiefs 
were  the  son  of  Ouhi,  Isle  de  Pere  and  chief  Qultomee;  the  latter  of  whom  liad  two 
horses  shot  under  him,  and  who  showed  me  a  letter  from  Colonel  Wright,  acknowl- 
edging bis  valuable  services  In  bringing  about  the  peace  of  tlie  Yakiujas.  1  have 
failed,  therefore,  in  making  the  desired  arrangements  with  the  Indians  in  the 
Walla  Walla,  and  the  failure,  to  be  attributed  In  part  to  the  want  of  co-operation 
with  me  as  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  on  tlie  jmrt  of  the  regular  troops,  has 
its  CJiuses  also  in  the  whole  plan  of  operations  of  the  troops  since  Colonel  Wright 
assumed  command.  T  state  Iwldly,  that  the  cause  of  the  Nez  Perces  becoming 
disaffected  and  finally  going  Into  war.  Is  the  operations  of  Colonel  Wright  east  of 
the  Cascades  -operations  so  feeble,  so  procrastinating,  so  entirely  unequal  to  the 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  COLONELS  WRIGHT,  STEPTOK  AND  SHAW.       461 


Idly 
oiith 
rces, 
'heir 
lid  r 

my 

iHU8 


emergency,  that  not  only  has  a  moat  severe  blow  been  struck  ut  the  credit  of  the 
Government  and  the  prosperity  and  character  of  this  remote  section  of  country,  but 
the  impression  has  been  made  upon  the  Indians  that  the  ])i'ople  and  the  soldiers 
were  a  different  people.  T  repeat  to  you  officially  that  when  the  Indians  attiicked 
me,  they  expected  Colonel  Steptoe  would  not  assist  me,  and  when  they  awoke 
from  their  dei'^sion,  Kama-iakun  said,  "I  will  now  let  these  people  know  who 
Kama-i-akun  is."  One  of  the  good  efleets  of  the  fight  is,  that  the  Indians  have 
learned  that  we  are  one  people,  a  fact  which  had  not  previously  been  made  apparent 
to  them  by  the  operations  of  the  regular  troops.  Is,  sir,  the  army  sent  here  to  pro- 
tect our  people  and  to  ])unish  Indian  tribes,  who  without  cause,  and  in  cold  blood, 
and  in  spite  of  solemn  treaties,  murder  our  people,  burn  our  houses,  and  wipe  out 
entire  settlements?  Is  it  the  duty  of  General  Wool  and  his  officers  to  refuse  to  co- 
operate with  me  in  my  appropriate  duties  as  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  and 
thus  practically  to  assume  those  duties  themselves?  Is  it  the  duty  of  General 
Wool,  in  his  schemes  of  pacifying  the  Indians,  to  trample  down  the  laws  of  Con- 
gress; to  issue  edicts  prohibiting  settlers  returning  to  their  claims,  and  thus  for  at 
least  one  county,  the  Walla  Walla,  make  himself  dictator  of  the  country? 

Early  iu  November  the  regulars  again  marched  into  the  Walla 
Walla  couiitry,  Colonel  Wright  taking  command  of  the  expedition 
in  person,  and  camped  on  Mill  Creek  on  the  .site  oi  the  city  of 
Walla  Walla.  Here  he  held  a  council  with  the  tribes  and  agreed 
upon  terms  of  peace.  He  promised  them  immunity  from  punish- 
ment for  their  past  conduct,  and  that  the  treaties  should  not  be  en- 
forced until  duly  ratified  by  the  Senate  and  promulgated  by  the 
President,  until  which  time  no  white  man  would  be  permitted  to 
settle  in  their  country  without  their  permission.  Thus  ended  the 
war.  That  this  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  Governor  Ste- 
vens can  well  be  imagined.  He  had  always  maintained  that  the  In- 
dians had  bound  themselves  by  solemn  obligations,  which  the}'  had 
deliberately  broken,  and  for  which  conduct  they  were  deserving  of 
severe  chastisement.  It  is  one  of  the  simplest  rules  of  equity  that 
a  c(jntract  must  be  ecpially  binding  upon  both  jiarties  to  be  valid. 
Governor  Stevens  knew  this  ;  and  yet  he  insisted  that  these  treaties 
were  in  full  force  with  the  Indians  while  as  yet  they  were  not  bind- 
ing upon  the  Government,  being  as  yet  unratified.  Had  he,  as  the 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  Washington,  and  his  associate 
oflScial  iu  Oregon,  Joel  Palmer,  acted  prudently,  and,  instead  of 
hastening  to  notify  the  people  that  the  Indian  title  had  been  ex- 
tinguished by  treaty,  cautioned  them,  that,  as  yet,  the  treaties  were 
but  blank  paper,  and  no  rights  whatever  had  been  acquired  under 
'hem  by  the  whites,  the  whole  difficulty,  with  its  attendant  train 
of  bloodshed  and  expense,  might,  perhaps,  have  been  averted.     It 


468 


HISTORY  OK  WILLAMETTK  V ALLEY. 


is  not  n'vtaiii  that  siicli  would  hjivo  l»<*tMi  the  case,  hut  heyond  a 
•  louht  there  would  have  l)eeii  oue  [M)wei'ful  disturbing  element  ab- 
sent. The  Governoi'  relieved  his  feelings  in  another  of  tiiose  long 
letters  to  the  Secretai'v  »>f  War,  none  of  which  seem  to  have  influ- 
enee<l  the  Depai'tnient  to  remove,  or  even  een^ure,  (Jeneral  Wool  or 
Colonel  Wright.  He  closed  his  epistle  with  the  following  [)ara- 
gra})h:  ''1  now  make  the  direct  issue  with  Colonel  Wright;  that 
he  ]nui  made  a  concession  to  the  Indians  which  he  had  no  authority 
to  make;  that  l>y  so  doing,  he  has  done  nothing  but  to  get  the  sem- 
blance of  a  peace.  |  This  was,  in  a  measure,  true;  for  the  Indians 
still  entertained  theii-  bitter  feelings  against  the  Americans,  and 
exhibited  a  very  defiant  spirit);  and  that  by  his  acts  he  has,  in  a 
measure,  A\(!akened  the  influence  of  the  service  having  the  authority 
to  make  ti'eaties  and  having  in  charge  the  frien<lly  Indians.  |  Gov- 
ernor Stevens  himself  was  responsible  for  \\eakening  the  influence 
of  the  treat)  -making  power,  by  emleavoring  to  enforce  treaties  he 
well  knew  were  not  in  etTect.  |  He  has,  in  my  judgment,  abandoned 
his  own  <luty,  which  wa>*  to  reduce  the  Indians  to  submission  |  to 
Governor  Stevens  |,  and  has  trenched  upon  and  usurped  mine." 
It  is  well  enough  to  let  the  matter  drop;  the  war  was  ended,  and  the 
people  had  a  large  bill  against  the  (leneral  (irovernment,  which  was, 
finally,  after  experiencing  the  usual  vicissitudes  and  jn'ocrastina- 
tions  of  C\)ngressional  action,  paid  in  a  somewhat  modified  form. 
It  was  subsequent  to  this  affair  at  Walla  Walla,  and  after  all 
the  volnnteei's  had  been  disbamled,  that  the  long  dreade<l  invawion 
of  Noilhern  Indians  occurred  on  Puget  SouikI.  Information  was 
received  by  Captain  S.  Swartwout  (fn  the  eighteenth  of  November, 
185H,  that  Northern  Indians  were  committing  depredations  in  the 
vicinity  of  Steilacoom,  and  he  at  once  set  sail  from  Seattle  to  inter- 
cept them.  Learning  at  Steilacoom  that  the  Resei'vation  Indians 
had  defeated  these  Northern  intruders  in  battle,  killed  two  of  them 
and  captured  one  canoe,  Swartwout  [)ursued  the  retreating  savages 
down  the  Sound.  Parsing  Port  Madison,  where  they  had  commit- 
ted ravages,  he  continued  on  to  Port  Gamlde,  where,  on  the  twen- 
tieth he  fcmnd  them  encamped  in  force.  An  effort  to  open  a  peace 
talk  was  fruitless,  as  they  Avould  not  permit  a  boat  to  land.  Ac- 
cordingly, Lieutenant  Young  was  dis])atched  with  three  boats,  forty- 
five  men  and  a  howitzer,  to  escort  an    interpreter,  wdio  w>us  to  offer 


(  A.MI'AKiNS  (»!•  ( ol.oNKI.S   \V  ItlOll'l",   s'|'i:i'T(  tK   AM»   SII.WV 


4f.9 


tlieiii  |t(fiif('  if  tlit'V  would  .'iliMixloii  tilt'  SouikI.  They  rcfnswl  to 
iic<'('|)t  the  t<'nns,  ,111(1  iiisnltiiiirly  chnllcnyerl  the  niai-iiu's  to  fight. 
Lieutenant  ^'oull^•  returned  on  hoard,  and  (\'i))tain  Swartwout  de- 
terinine(|  to  attack  them  in  the  niorninu'.  Duriny,'  the  night  the 
ship  was  moved  in  shoic,  and  anchored  with  hei*  Itroadside  l)eanng 
npon  the  camj),  only  six  hundred  yards  distant.  In  the  morning 
Lieutenant  Semmes  went  in  the  first  cutter  to  the  <'onsort  Steamer 
Traveller^  which  was  anchoi'ed  a1>o\ c  the  camp  so  that  it  could  be 
raked  Uy  the  tiehl  pieces  on  ]>oard.  From  there  he  landed  with 
Lientenant  Forest  and  twenty-nine  sailors  and  marines,  wading 
waist  deep  to  reach  the  shore  and  cai'rying  a  howitzer  in  their  arms. 
With  them  went  the  intei'pretei'  to  carry  a  final  projjosition  of  |»eace. 
Instead  (»f  heing  daunted  1>y  the  formidal»le  prepai-ations  for  their 
subjugation,  the  Indians  refused  to  accept  the  terms  offered,  and 
taking  shelter  heliind  trees  and  h)gs  jxtinted  their  guns  at  the  little 
party  on  the  beach.  The  Traveller  at  once  opened  tire  upon  them 
from  her  field  guns,  the  first  discharge  being  simultaneous  with  the 
first  volley  fired  by  the  savages.  Instantly  the  ship  [)Oured  a  ])roa<l- 
side  of  round  sh»)t  and  grajje  nito  the  cani|)  and  woods  where  they 
were  concealed,  while  the  howitzer  on  the  l)each  also  sent  in  its 
compliments.  Unthn-  covei-  of  the  guns,  the  little  paity  made  a 
bold  charge  and  dr(»ve  the  Indians  from  their  camp  into  the  woods, 
(^wing  to  the  density  of  underbrush  and  fallen  timber,  it  was  im- 
possible to  follow  them,  and,  after  destroying  the  camp  and  pro[)- 
erty  of  the  niaraudei-s  and  disabling  all  but  one  of  their  canoes, 
Lieutenants  Semmes  and  Forest  returned  on  board.  During  the 
day  the  giuis  played  upcm  the  woods  \\  herever  an  Indian  could  be 
seen,  and  it  was  thought  the  execution  was  considerable.  On  thi' 
part  of  the  assailants,  one  man  was  killed  and  another  wounded. 
The  next  day  the  Indians  sent  two  of  their  chiefs  on  board  to  beg  foi' 
mercy  and  offer  to  surrendei'  unconditionally.  They  said  that  they 
had  lost  twenty-seven  of  their  numbei',  besides  many  wounded,  that 
their  proi)erty  and  canoes  were  destroyed  and  they  had  been  with- 
out food  two  days.  They  were  all  supplied  with  food,  taken  on 
board  the  ship,  and  carried  to  A'^ictoria,  promising  never  to  return. 
Never  after  that  were  the  white  settlements  molested  In  maraudinn' 
savages  from  the  north,  though  the  aborigines  of  the  Sound  have, 
frequently  suffered  from  their  hostile  incursions. 


m 


470 


niSTORT  OF  WILLAMKTTK  VALLKY. 


There  was  iiuvv  a  semblance  of  peace  everywhere.  The  volun- 
teers had  all  been  disbanded,  and  an  ample  force  of  regulars  was 
stationed  in  Southern  Oregon,  on  the  Columbia  and  on  Puget 
Sound.  A  strong  force  o"cupied  the  Walla  Walla  country,  and 
endeavored,  while  the  treaties  were  being  ground  through  the 
official  mill  at  Washington,  to  stand  as  a  bulwark  between  the 
two  races,  and  prevent  either  from  infringing  the  rights  of  th  i 
other.  A  snuill  saw  mill  was  taken  up  in  the  spring  of  1857,  and 
lumber  cut  for  the  erection  of  bari'acks  and  officers'  quaj  ters,  which 
were  built  within  the  present  limits  of  the  city  of  Walla  Walla. 
In  the  command  of  this  post  was  Lieutenant- Colonel  E.  J.  Step- 
toe,  the  garrison  consisting  of  several  companies  of  the  9th  In- 
fantry. The  Indians  were  atill  in  a  hostile  frame  of  mind,  and 
the  presence  of  the  troops  in  their  country  was  distasteful  to  them, 
the  feeling  extending  to,  and  affecting,  the  tribes  as  far  north  as  the 
Spokanes.  This  feeling  is  revealed  in  a  letter  wi'itten  April  15, 
1857,  by  Father  A.  Hoeken,  of  the  Flat  Head  Mission,  addressed 
to  a  brother  priest.     A  paragraph  of  that  epistle  says  : — 

Father  Ravalli  labored  as  much  as  he  could  to  pacify  the  tribes  which  reside 
towards  the  west,  namely:  the  Cayuses,  the  Yaklmas,  the  Opclouses  [Palouses], 
etc  As  our  neophytes  [Flat  Heads  and  Cceur  d'Alenes]  hitherto  have  taken  no 
part  in  the  war,  the  country  is  as  safe  for  us  as  ever.  We  can  go  freely  wherever 
we  desire.  No  one  is  ignorant  that  the  Black  Gowns  [Catholic  prlestsj  are  not 
enemies— tliose,  at  least,  who  are  among  the  Indians.  Almost  all  the  Coeur 
d'Alenes,  in  order  to  shield  themselves  from  the  hostilities  of  thfe  Indians,  and  to 
avoid  all  relations  witli  them,  are  gone  bison  hunting.  A  few  days  since,  Father 
Joset  wrote  me  that  Fatlier  Ravalli  had  already  written  him  several  weeks  before. 
I  fear  a  general  rising  among  the  Indians  toward  the  commencement  of  spring. 
Let  us  pray,  and  let  us  engage  others  to  pray  with  us,  to  avert  tliis  calamity.  I 
think  that  it  wUl  be  well  to  add  to  the  ordinary  prayers  of  the  mass,  the  collect  for 
peace. 

The  outbreak  did  not  occur  as  predicted,  owing,  possibly,  to 
the  efficacy  of  the  worthy  missionaries'  prayers,  but  apparently  due 
to  an  absence  of  a  sufficient  provocation  which  might  serve  as  a 
pretext  for  war.  That  not  much  of  a  provocation  was  required 
was  made  evident  the  following  year. 

In  the  spring  of  1858  Palouse  Indians  stole  some  stock  from 
the  troops  at  Walla  W^alla,  and  on  the  eighth  of  May  Colonel 
Steptoe  marched  north,  with  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
intending  to  visit  Fort  Colville,  and  on  his  return  to  capture  the 
thieving    Indians.     This    expedition    met    with    signal    disaster, 


(  AMI'AKJ.N.S  »»K  (OI.ONKI.S   WKKIIIT,   SI  i;i'T(»l':   AND  SHAW.         471 


through  most  tiiiniilii.iiy  carHh^ssni'.ss.  One  hundred  luides  weiv 
detiiilod  for  the  pack  tr.-uu,  and  when  these  were  loachui  it  waw 
found  tli.tt  there  w.is  no  room  for  the  sur[)hiH  ammunition  which 
had  Im'cii  set  (»ui.  riiis  was  taken  baek  to  the  magazine,  and  the 
eomniaud  iiiMiclied  with  only  the  anununition  carried  in  the  ear- 
ti'idge  l»oxes  of  the  iiicii.  Such  eareh-'ssness  invited  the  disaster 
which  followed. 

Steptoe  crossed  Snake  River,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ali)owa 
wh<'n  he  was  joined  by  a  friendly  Nez  Perce  chief  named  "  Timo- 
thy," and  three  of  his  warriors,  ('oi,  ",  lincr  noith,  he  ap])roached 
foui'  lakes  lying  north  of  Pine  Creek,  the  liulians  gradually  collect- 
ing ill  givat  numlxM's.  Here  he  wax  informed  l>y  them  that  he 
must  leave  this  region  and  retuni  t  >  Walla  Walla,  or  they  would 
■Attack  him.  Camping  at  the  lak»^s  for  tli'  night,  the  comnnind  l)e- 
gan  its  reti'ogra(h'  march  at  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
seventeenth  of  April,  the  Indians  continually  hovering  on  its  flanks. 
Ste|)toe  held  a  conference  with  Saltees,  a  Cour  d'Alene  chief,  Kathei- 
Joseph  acting  as  intei'[»reter,  being  assured  that  no  aitack  nould  be 
made  upon  him.  The  chief  then  shouted  something  to  his  fuUow- 
ers,  when  one  of  the  friendly  Nez  Perces,  riamed  Levi,  struck  him 
on  the  head  with  a  whip,  saying,  "  What  for  you  say  'no  fight'  and 
then  tell  your  peo[)le  '  wait  awhile'  i  Voii  talk  two  tongues.''  A  bout 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  as  the  command  approached  Pine  Creek, 
near  the  present  town  of  Rosalia,  passing  down  a  natural  "wash,'' 
it  was  fired  uj)on  by  Indians  secreted  in  the  timber  across  the  stream, 
and  occui)ying  elevated  positions  (m  the  flank.  Lieutenant  Gaston 
prompttly  charged  and  cleared  an  opening  to  the  highlands  south 
of  the  creek,  Iteing  followed  by  the  entire  force.  The  howitzer 
was  unlimbered  and  discharged,  killing  no  one,  but  serving,  by  its 
noise,  to  somewhat  intimidate  the  assailants.  By  charging  them, 
the  enemy  wew  cleai'ed  awa}',  and  the  I'etreat  was  resumed  with 
the  pack  irain  in  the  van,  the  flanks  and  rear  being  covered.  Lieu- 
tenant James  Wheeler  was  on  the  right,  Lieutenant  William  Gaston 
on  the  left,  and  Captain  O.  H.  P.  Taylor  guarded  the  rear,  each 
with  a  company.  Chai'ge  after  charge  of  the  enemy  wjis  repulsed, 
rur-n  falling  continually  and  being  left  to  the  tender  mercy  of  the 
savages  in  man}'  cases  where  it  was  impossible  to  carry  them  away. 
At  last  many  of  Lieutenant  Gaston's  men  used  their  last  round  of 


) 


472 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


ammunition,  and  he  sent  an  orderly  to  Colonel  Steptoe,  who  was 
with  the  train  in  the  van,  asking  that  the  command  be  halted  until 
more  could  be  issued ;  but  the  request  was  not  gi'anted.  Captain 
Taylor's  company  next  fired  its  last  shot,  and  this  fact,  as  well  as 
the  fall  of  Gaston,  was  communicated  to  the  superior  officer.  He 
then  ordered  a  halt.  The  contest  in  the  rear  was  now  a  desperate 
hand  tc>  hand  struggle.  Both  Gaston  and  Taylor  lay  on  the  ground, 
their  men  fighting  stubbornly  for  possession  of  their  bodies.  Among 
them  was  a  private  named  DeMay,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the 
French  army  in  Algiers  and  the  Crimea,  and  was  an  excellent 
swordsman.  Clubbing  his  musket  he  made  a-  furious  onslaught 
upon  the  assailing  savages,  and  as  he  was  borne  down  by  numbers 
he  cried,  "  Mon  Dieu,  Mou  Dieu,  mine  saber!"  At  last  the  Indians 
were  driven  back  and  the  body  of  Captain  Taylor  was  rescued. 
So  demoralized  had  become  the  main  body  of  the  troops,  that  the 
call  of  Lieutenant  Gregg  for  volunteers  to  go  to  the  assistance  of 
the  hard-pressed  rear  guj.rd,  was  answered  by  only  ten  men.  He 
then  led  a  charge,  but  soon  found  himself  alone  and  rode  back  with- 
out uttering  a  word.  To  save  the  retreat  from  becoming  a  com- 
plete rout,  which  would  have  resulted  in  the  utter  annihilation  of 
the  force,  Colonel  Steptoe  went  into  camp  and  threw  out  a  strong 
line  of  pickets.  The  Indians  encamped  near  by,  apparently  will- 
ing to  bide  their  time,  feeling  certain  of  their  victims.  Every 
avenue  of  escape  was  guarded  but  one,  and  that  one  was  a  difficult 
pass  which  they  supposed  the  soldiers  could  not  travel.  The  Nez 
Perce  chief  was  then  their  savior.  When  the  night  was  well  ad- 
vanced, liaviug  cached  the  howitzers  and  left  their  surplus  stores  to 
engage  the  attention  of  the  savages,  so  as  to  delay  pursuit  in  the 
morning,  the  troops  mounted  and  followed  Timoth}'  in  single  file, 
as  he  led  them  through  the  unguarded  pass. 

The  woimded  of  each  company  were  placed  in  charge  of  some 
of  their  comrades,  a  few  of  them  being  so  ])adly  hurt  as  to  l)e 
utterly  helpless.  These  were  tied  upon  pack  animals.  Two  of 
them,  Sei'geaut  Williams  and  Private  McCrosson,  suffered  such  ex- 
cruciating agony  from  the  motion  of  the  animals,  that  they  begged 
to  be  killed,  to  be  given  poison,  or  a  pistol  with  which  to  end  their 
misery.  Both  of  them  succeeded  in  wriggling  off  from  the  animals 
they  rode  in  different  places  ;  and  their  comrades,  cutting  them 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  COLONELS  WRIGHT,  STKPTOE  AND  SHAW.        47.'» 


free  from  the  lashings,  left  them  lying  on  the  ground,  and  rode 
away  into  the  darkness  unmindful  of  their  pleadings  for  something 
with  which  to  end  their  misery  and  save  themselves  from  the  toi  • 
tures  of  their  cruel  pui'suers.  One  by  one  the  wounded,  such  as 
could  not  take  care  of  themselves,  were  left  behind,  and  the  men 
hastened  forward,  intent  onlj  upon  putting  the  swift  curi'ent  of 
Snake  River  between  themselves  and  the  t  ruel  enemy  in  their  rear. 
Seventy  miles  were  traversed  in  twenty-four  hours,  when  they 
reached  the  river  near  the  mouth  of  the  Alpowa,  where  lived 
Timothy's  band  of  Nez  Perces.  Summoning  his  people,  the  chief 
placed  the  warriors  on  guard  in  the  rear,  while  the  women  ferried 
the  exhausted  soldiers,  with  their  animals  and  effects,  across  the 
stream.  It  took  a  day  to  accomplish  this  task,  and  then  they 
moved  (m  to  the  Pataha,  where  they  were  met  by  Captain  Dent, 
with  supplies  and  reinforcements.  Here,  also,  they  were  overtaken 
by  a  war  party  of  Nez  Perces  under  Lawyer,  who  desired  them  to 
return  and  give  the  Indians  battle  ;  Init  they  desired  no  more  fight- 
ing for  the  present,  and  the  march  to  Walla  Walla  was  continued. 
Two  officers  and  sixteen  men  were  left  upon  the  fiehi  or  along  the 
line  of  the  retreat,  while  more  than  a  score  of  those  who  found 
safety  by  crossing  Snake  River,  were  severely  wounded. 

Intelligence  of  this  disaster  was  conveyed  to  General  Clark, 
successor  of  General  Wool  in  command  of  the  department,  and  he 
ordered  all  available  troops  on  the  Coast  to  assemble  at  Walla 
Walla,  for  the  purpose  of  administering  to  the  Indians  such  a 
castigation  as  would  teach  them  the  power  of  the  Government. 
This  force  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Wright.  A 
l)a8e  of  operations,  named  "  Ft)i't  Taylor,"  was  established  on  the 
south  side  of  Snake  River,  near  the  Tukannon,  and  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  August  Colonel  Wright  moved  forward  with 
six  hundred  and  eighty  soldiers,  thirty  Nez  Perce  allies,  and  two 
hundred  packers,  herders,  etc.  On  the  first  of  September  he  en- 
countered the  hostiles  near  Medical  Lake,  and  whipped  them 
severely.  They  were  diiven  from  the  timber  and  hills  by  the 
howitzers,  and  a  charge  by  the  troops,  and  attempting  to  make  a 
stand  on  the  open  plain,  were  mowed  down  by  the  fire  of  the 
steadily  advancing  troops,  who  were  armed  with  long  range  guns 
for  the  first  time  in  their  encounter  with  Indians.     When  they 


474 


HISTORY  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY. 


broke,  two  hundred  dragoons,  under  the  coiiuurtud  of  Major 
William  N.  Grier,  swooped  down  upon  them,  and  they  fled  in  a 
panic,  the  companies  of  the  dead  Taylor  and  Gaston  taking  grim 
revenge  upon  the  fleeing  savages  who  had  slain  their  commandei-s. 
How  many  were  killed  is  not  known,  as  all  but  those  who  fell 
during  the  la<t  charge  were  carried  from  the  fiehl.  Seventeen 
bodies  were  left  upon  the  ground,  which  was  strewn  with  blankets, 
robes,  guns  and  the  miscellaneous  paraphei'nalia  of  Indian  war- 
riors.    Not  a  soldier  was  killed  in  the  battle. 

P'oui'  days  later  the  command  reached  Spokane  River,  six  miles 
below  the  falls,  'laving  driven  the  hostiles  before  them  for  fourteen 
miles,  killing  many  of  tliem.  This  was  the  end  ;  the  Indians  fled 
in  terror,  and  dared  not  again  offei*  battle  to  such  a  terrible  foe. 
Colonel  Wright  pushed  on  toward  the  C»eur  dWlene  Mission,  and 
was  met  by  Gearry,  chief  of  the  Spokanes,  who  asked  for  peace. 
The  stern  avenger  told  the  suppliant  chief  that  he  came  to  fight, 
not  to  make  peace  ;  that  he  had  force  enough  to  Avhip  the  com- 
bined tribes  of  that  whole  region  ;  that  he  otfei-ed  no  terms  of 
peace,  the  Indians,  men,  women  iuid  chihlren,  must  come  in  and 
trust  to  his  mercy  ;  otherwise  he  woidd  exterminate  the  tribe.  On 
the  eighth  Wright  captured  nine  hundred  and  eighty-six  liorses 
from  the  Palouses,  and,  knowing  how  vital  they  wei'e  in  Indian 
warfare,  he  ordered  evt^ry  one  of  them  to  be  shot.  This  was  more 
than  they  could  endure,  and  the  concurrent  appearance  of  a 
brilliant  comet  in  the  heavens,  made  them  think  C'olonel  Wright 
was  a  scourge  sent  l)y  the  Great  Spirit,  who  hung  his  flaming 
sword  in  the  sky  as  a  sign  of  his  anger.     Tiiey  sued  for  peace. 

Councils  were  held  with  the  various  tribes,  at  which,  u))on  the 
demand  of  Colonel  Wright,  the  men  who  had  ct)mmenced  the  attack 
upon  Colonel  Steptoe  were  delivered  up  for  punisiiment,  and  hos- 
tages were  given  for  their  future  good  conduct.  Twelve  of  the 
guilty  ones  were  hanged,  among  whom  was  (jualchien,  who  had 
killed  Agent  Bolan  in  1855.  His  father,  Owhi,  second  chief  of 
the  Yakimas,  was  a  prisoner,  and  attempting  to  escape  near  Fort 
Taylor,  was  killed  by  the  guard.  On  the  seventh  of  October  the 
bones  of  those  who  fell  in  Steptoe's  battle  were  buried  at  Fort 
Walla  Walla,  and  Wright  then  held  a  council  with  the  Walla  Walla 
tribe.     So  great  had  become  the  fear  of  him,  that  when  he  called 


thori 
July 
to  aett 
1858 
compa 
quite  a 
Was  bi 
I^ane, 
recomn 
penses 
claims- 
coming 
«equenc 


CAMPAIGNS  OK  COLONELS  WRIGHT,  8TEPTOE  AND  SHAW.        475 


for  all  those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  battle  to  stand  up,  thirty- 
five  warriors  promptly  rose  to  their  feet.  Four  of  these  were 
selected  for  execution,  and  their  hanging  was  witnessed  by  their 
people  with  fear  and  trembling.  This  was  the  end,  and  until  chief 
Joseph  and  his  small  band  of  Nez  Perces  broke  out  twenty  years 
later,  not  an  Indian  of  all  those  tribes  went  again  upon  the  war 
path  against  the  whites. 

Colonel  AVright  was  promoted  during  the  civil  war  to  the  rank 
of  Brigadier,  and  commanded  the  Department  of  the  Pacific.  His 
energy,  watchfulness,  and  sterling  patriotism  kept  down  the  ever- 
rising  flame  of  trea.son,  and  held  the  Coast  loyal  to  the  Government 
throughout  the  bloody  struggle.  Pie  became  very  dear  to  the  peo- 
ple who  had  so  long  relied  upon '  him  for  pi'otection,  and  it  was  a 
day  of  mouiTiing  when  the  sad  news  came  that  he  had  found  a 
watery  grave.  With  his  family  and  staff  he  was  engulfed  in  the 
stormy  watei-s  of  the  Pacific,  when,  off  Crescent  City  on  the  thir- 
tieth of  July,  1855,  the  Brother  Jonathan  carried  her  human  cargo 
to  a  resting  place  beneath  the  billows. 

The  financial  history  of  these  Indian  Wars  presents  considerable 
of  importance  to  interest  the  reader.  It  has  been  mentioned  that 
the  demands  of  the  war  of  1853  were  paid  in  full  two  years  later, 
through  the  action  of  General  Lane  and  others.  The  accounts 
growing  out  of  the  Walker  expedition  in  1854,  "  To  fight  the  emi- 
grants," as  some  facetious  ones  have  termed  it,  were  paid  subse- 
quent to  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  The  act  of  Congress  which  au- 
thorized their  payment,  was  based  upon  a  previous  act  apjjroved 
July  17,  1854,  entitled  "An  act  to  authorize  the  Secretary  of  War 
to  settle  and  adjust  the  expens.^s  of  the  Rogue  River  War  [of 
1858],"  which  was  extended  to  cover  the  case  of  Captain  Walker's 
company.  The  claims  growing  out  of  the  last  Indian  war  achieved 
quite  a  history.  In  the  summer  of  1856  the  matter  of  these  claims 
was  brought  before  Congress  by  the  Oregon  Delegate,  General 
Lane,  and  being  ref«-red  to  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  a 
recommend  .u  was  made  favorable  to  the  payment  of  the  ex- 
penses of  the  wars  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  the  two  sets  of 
claims — arising  fi'om  the  Rogue  River  and  the  Yakima  wars — be- 
coming mingled  in  all  Congressional  and  official  reports.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  reconunendation  Congi'ess,  on  the  eighteenth  of 


w 


470 


HISTORY  OF  WII.KAMKTTK  VAIJ.KY, 


August,  passed  un  act,  one  of  whose  provisions  is:    "  Be  in  enacted^ 
That  the  Secretary  of  War  be  directed  to  examine  into  the  amount 
of  expenses  necessarily  incurred  in  the  suppression  of  hostilities  in 
the  late  Indian  war  in  Oregon  and  Washington  by  the  Territorial 
(rovernments  in  the  maintenance  of  the  volunteer  forces  engaged,  in- 
cluding pay  of  voliuiteers,  and  he  may,  if  he  deem  it  necessary, 
direct  a  commission  of  three  to  report  these  expenses  to  him,"  ett\ 
In  consetjuence  a  commission,  consisting  of  Captain  Andrew  tl. 
Smith,  previously  many  times  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  wars, 
Captain  llufus  Ingalls,  now  General,  and    Lafayette  (xrover,  of  Sa- 
lem, Oregon,  was  apjminted  t(-  make  the  examination.     They  began 
work  in  October,  18r)H,  and  after  spending  more  than  a  year  in  a 
careful   investigation  of  these  claims,  "traveling  over  the  whole 
field  of  operations  occupied  l)y  the  volunteei's,  during  hostilities, 
and  becoming  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  matter,"  made  their 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  Wai-.     According  to  their  examination 
the  sum  of  ^4,44V),04lMV^   w.as  due  iis  the  expenses  on  the  part  of 
Oregon.     The  muster-rolls  of  companies  represented  an  indebted- 
ness, after  deducting  stoppages  for  clothing,  etc.,  of  $l,40i>,(i44.r)8; 
while  scrip  had   been    islsued  to   the   extent  of   $:i,()40,344.H0   in 
payment  of  supplies,  etc.,  furnished.     This  aggregate  was  exclusive 
of  claims  for  spoliation   by  Indians,  and  included  only  what  were 
thought  to  l>e  the  legitimate  expenses  of  maintaining  the  volunteer 
force  in  the  field.     The  report  and  acccmipanying  doc  uments  were 
transmitted  to  Congress,  and  on  the  eighth  of  Keln'uary,  1H59,  a 
resolution   passed  the  House  of  Representatives,  providing  that  it 
should  be  the  duty  of  the  Third  Auditor  of  tli^e  Treasury  to  exam- 
ine the  vouchei-s  and  pai)ers  connected  with  the  subject,  and  make 
a  report  in  the  December  following  of  the  amount  due  each  indi- 
vidual engaged  in  the  :uilitai'y  service  of  the  two  Territories  during 
the  war.     The  resoiuton    also  provided  that  he  should  allow  the 
volunteers  no  higher  pay  than  was  recei\-ed  by  the  ofticers  and  sol- 
diers of  like  grade  in  the  regular  army,  including  the  extra  pay  of 
two  dollars  per  month  conferred  by  act  of  Congress  of  1852  on 
troops  serving  on  the  Pacific  Coast;  that  he  was  to  recognize  no 
company  or  individual  as  entitled  to  pay  except  such  as  had  been 
duly  called  into  service  by  the  Territorial  authorities;  that  in  au- 
diting claims  for  supplies,  transportation,  etc.,  he  was  directed  to 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  COLONELS,  WRIGHT  STKPTOE  AND  SHAW.         477 

have  a  due  regard  to  the  number  of  troops,  to  their  period  of  ser- 
vice and  to  the  ))rices  which  were  current  at  the  time  and  place. 
On  February  7,  I860,  R.  J.  Atkinson,  Third  Auditor,  made  his  re- 
port. It  was  an  exhaustive  and  voluminous  document,  and  it  re- 
duced the  grand  total  of  the  claims  of  various  sorts,  acted  on  by  the 
three  commissioners,  from  $6,011,457.36  to  $2,714,908.55,  a  reduc- 
tion of  about  fifty-five  per  cent.  This  estimate  was  taken  as  a  basis 
for  these  claims,  and  by  a  subsef^uent  act  of  Congress  a  sum  of 
money  to  correspond  was  appropriated  to  pay  them. 


^i 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  lists  of  pioneers  who  came  to  Oregon  before  the 
territorial  government  was  formed,  March  8,  1849,  and  whose 
names  do  not  occur  in  the  lists  printed  on  pages  226,  232,  246,  248, 
249,  275,  283,  288,  301  and  303,  have  been  gathered  from  various 
sources,  chiefly  from  the  records  of  the  Qregon  Pioneer  Association: 


1831. 
Allan,  George 

1832. 
Smith,  J.  H. 

1838. 
Crate,  Ed. 

1840. 
Abernethy,  Wni. 
Black,  Henry 
CapleH,  ChasiO.  a'';l 

Hezekiah. 
Cook,  Amos. 
Cosper,  .7.  I. 
Bmlth,  Alvin  T. 

1841. 
Biirnior,  Franklin 
Baum,  L. 
Flett,  John 

1842. 
Ekin,  R.  H. 
England,  William 
Force,  G.C.  and  Jaw. 
dirty,  Henry 
Holman,  Geo.  P. 
Hutchins,  Chas. 
Lewis,  Reuben 
Moss,  S.  W. 


Hhadden,  Thos.  .1. 

1843. 
Barzerin,  Louis 
Black,  George 
Boyd,  L.  T. 
Boyer,  Thomas 
Carson,  A.  J. 
Chambers,  E.  J. 
Fendall,  E.  E. 
Gilmore,  S.  M. 
Hatch,U.  C.&P.H, 
Hembree,  W.  C. 
Hobson,  Richard 
Holman,  D.  8. 
Kaiser,  P.  C. 
Mack,  N.  P. 
Payne,  Martin 
Sitton,  Natlian  K. 
Smith,  B.  F. 
Straight,  Hiram  A. 
Wilson,  John 
Woods,  J.  W. 

1844. 
Brown,  Thomtus 
Burton,J.  &H.  H. 
Carliu,  John 
(Uirry,  George  L. 
Gerrish,  John  J. 


Gilbey,  Henry  H. 
Hawley,  J.  H. 
Hewitt,  D.  K. 
Jeffries,  E. 
Lock,  A.  N. 
Nelson  C.8.  &  J.C. 
Olds,  R. 
Parri8h,S.  M.,A.J. 

and  E.  E. 
Ramsdell,  Thos.  M. 
Rise,  Preston 
Rowland,  G.  L.  and 

L.  L. 
Shaw,  G.  W,  &  T.C. 
Smith,  Simeon 
Snowden,  S.  D. 
Stillwell.  M.  D. 
Stump,  C. 
Terwilliger.  James 
Thorp,  E.  E. 
Walker,  John 
Wliite,  (;.  and  J.  E. 

1846. 
Baijer.  G.  H. 
Bacon,  J. M. 
Bacon,  P.  A. 
Bayley,  D.  T). 
Barlow,  William 


Bayard,  C.  C. 
Blaker,  J.  H. 
Bozarth.C.C.undJ.J. 
Bumim,  W.  G. 
Burch,  B.  F. 
Caplinger,  H.C.  and 

J.  C. 
Cogswell,  Jolin 
Cole,  W.  D. 
Comfort,  Edwin  B. 
Cooley,  Jackson 
Cornelius,  A.  H.,  A. 

M.,  G.  B.,  Sam. 

and  T.  R. 
Cosgrove,  Hugli 
Cox,  Gideon  and  P. 
(Vow,  E.  .J. 
Cully.  Thomas 
Davidson,  A.  F. 
Davis,  Reuben 
Day,  W.  P. 
Delaney,  David 
Dixon,  \Vm.  F. 
Doak,  A.  J. 
Doley,  David  R.  S. 
Engle,  Sam. 
Foss,  Oo.    W.    and 

.Joseph  H. 


478 


APPENDIX. 


Foiter,  John 
(Jfaiier,  Alonzo 
(jriirriHoii,  L.  It. 
Oraiil,  Roubt'ii 
(Irayer,  Jacob 
Hall,  B.  F. 
Hamilton,  A.  R. 
Hampton,  J.  D. 
Hem  hive,  N.  A. 
HeiulorHon,  VV.  I 
Hern,  N. 
Hij.'ginw,  W. 
Hosford,  ('. 
Howland,  J.  A. 
Hussov,  Al. 
Ingles,  \V.  S. 


Voss,  J.  H. 
Walker,  C.  C.  anil 

Elias 
Whailey,  A.  W. 
Whf-eler,  Wm. 
White,  J,  S. 
Wilev,  R.  E, 
Willey,  R.  E. 
Williams,  C.  A.,  J. 

J.  and  J.  L, 
1846. 
Alhri<rlit,  Jolm 
Allen,  J.  C. 
Andei-Hon,  Levi 
Bonnev,  B.  F.  and 


Jackson,  Georj^e  W.  Bridfrform,  D. 


JoflVies,  S.  M 
Johnson,  \V.  C'aiev 
Killin,  B. 
Lovens,  Thomas 
Lloyd,  A.  G. 
McCoy,  Joliii 
McMillan,  J.  H. 
Markliiiin,  Alfred 
Meldnmi,  Jolm,  J. 

W..  and  J. 
Moi'fian.  K. 
Morris,  .1.  ^I.   and 

James  M. 
Newman,  Jtilin  W. 
Noiile,  Henr\- 
Nortluii),  P.  "G. 
O4)orn,  W.  T. 
Parker,  Sanmel 
PcnthuKl,  R. 
Perry,  Francis 
Phillips,  John 
Pollock,  Tliomas 
Polly,  H.  B. 


Bridires,  J.  H. 
Brown,  Alvin  ('. 
Buckingham,  H.  ('. 
Byrd,  L.  A. 
Camphell,  S.  L. 
Carter,  Talbert 
Chandlers,  J.  W. 
Church,  J.  8. 
tMark,  Jason  Ij. 
Clayton,  Jesse 
{."lozpore,  J.  H. 
Collins,F.M.  &  J.L. 
Cove,  A.  8. 
Cox,  (i.  rt.  and  Jos, 
Crum,  Wm.  II. 
Crump,  Turner 
Currier,  J.  M. 
Dunl)ar,  R.  O.  and 

W.  R. 
Durham,  John  M. 
Eliot,  William 
Garrison,  Rev.  A. E. 

and  John  M. 
M. 


Pugh,  John  M.  and   Guthrie,  David 

N.  Porter  Hart,  Horace 

Read,  Thomas  M.       Hatton,  Mark 
Rinearsou,  J.  Ij.  and  Henderson,  Jno.  H 
M.  P.  J.  J.  and  Robei 

Rogers,  C.  and  J.  W.  Hosford,  Aceneth 
Ruge,  Thomas  Hunsaker,  J.  T. 

Ravage,  Williaui         Jenkins,  ttteplien 
Hcoyfgln.  W.  A.  Johnson,  Jacob 

ScottjPriceandRod-  King,  W. 


ney, 
Scroggm,  S. 


Kirk,  Wm.  R. 
lialto,  Isaac 


Shannon,  Davis  and  Lanilier-on,  Lemuel 

Wt'slcy  LaiKJctield,  A.  J. 

Sheperd,  William      I-arsen,  Andrew 
Shirley,  James  Lewis,  I).  R. 

Binnnon-<,  Archibald  Martin,  F. 
Smith,  Geo.  J),  and    Miller,  Wm. 


Jenning-" 
.Sol.  Richard 
Stophens,  James  B. 
Stewart,  Daniel 
Stump,  David 


Murch,  (Jeo.  H. 
Perkins,  Wm,  F. 
Ram.Hby,  Maxwell 
Richanlson,  B.  M., 
E.  and  ^,  (.'. 


Taylor,  J.  and  Wm. Ravage, Jno  &  M.R. 
Umphlet,  Slanlev      Shane,  Carlos  W. 
Vaughan,  Wm.  t.     Shelton,  Dr.  T.  W. 


Shrum,  John  W. 
Smith, F.R.&Jas.D. 
Thomson,  R,  R. 
Townsend,  David  & 

Thos. 
Vanbibber,  L. 
Whitaker,  Anthony 

1847. 
Allen,  G.  M.,J.W., 

R.  ('.,  T.  B. 
Althouse,  Samuel 
Anderson,  James 
Ajiperson,  .lolin  T. 
Bailey,  John 
Baker,  J.N.  &W. II. 
Beal,  Jacob,  Jos., 

and  Philip 
Becks,  Jacob 
]}ewley,  J.F. 
Bird,  John 
Blair,  Prior  F. 
Blanton,  Wm. 
Bon  ney,  Alzin  C. 

anil  (jeo.  F. 
Boston,  John 
Braly,  J.  C. 
Brijvgs, Elias  it  Isaac. 
Brisl)'nc,  John 
Brisky,  John 
Brown,  (ieorge  J., 

Henry  &W.C. 
Brvan,  Ed. 
Jiurch,  S.  T. 
Burkhart,  S.  C. 
Butler,  (lieorge  W. 
Byl)ee,  J.  F. 
Carey,  (i.  W. 
Carter,  C.  M. 
Caslleman,  I.  J. 
Caywood,  T 
Chapmsm,  William 
Chattield,  W.  H. 
CofHn,  S. 
Coleman,  James 
Cone,  G.A.&O.H. 
Cook,  A. P.  &  A.R. 
Cox,  Joseph,  Thos. 

and  Wm.  H. 
Crosby,  C.  B. 
Davidson,  J.  E.  and 

T.  L. 
Davis,  Lemuel  E.& 

T.  W. 
Diamond,  John 
Diller,  W.  H. 
Dimiek,  George  W. 
Downer,  J.  W. 
Downing,  John 
Durham,  Albert -A. 

and  George  H. 
Elliot,  F.  N. 
Eoft",  Geo.  and  J.  L. 
Friendly,  J.  R. 
Fudge,  W. 
Geer,  Cal.  and  R.  C, 


Gilbert,    Geo.    and 

Riley. 
Gilborin,  A.  J. 
Graves,  G.  W. 
Greman,  J.  W, 
Grim,  J.  W. 
(Uiild,  B.  C. 
Hall,  L.  S. 
Hibbard,  K.  L. 
Hill,  Henry 
Hines,  John  W. 
Hodges,  D.  R. 
Hubbard,  C. 
Huddlcson,  C.  M. 
Hughes,  (t.  H.  and 

J.  '!•. 
Hulin,  Lister 
Hunsaker,  Dan  and 

T.  H. 
Hunt,  G.  W. 
name,  W.  E. 
ritr,  S.  W. 
Jack,  R.  A.  it  W.  A. 
Jennings,  l-;d.  J. 
J<)lly,Wm.&Wm.B. 
Johnson,  A.  L.,  G. 

W.,  H.A.,  J.C, 

L  and  W.  W. 
Jory,  H.  8. 
Keeiie,  1).  M. 
K.ely,  J.  M.  it  J.  W. 
Kinzey,  Terry  W. 
Kinder,  F.  P. 
Kinney,   A.  W.  and 

Samuel 
Klum,  Charles  K. 
Lande.«s,   Felix    and 

George 
Laughlin,  Lee,  R.  R. 

and  William 
Lay  ton,  John 
Leabo,  Jacob 
Lee,  Dr.  N.  li. 
Lock,  W.  S. 
Long,  Edward 
Luelling,  A.  (two) 
McBride,  T.  A. 
McCaw,  William 
.Me(.'hrisnian,  Win, 
McClain,  E.  C. 
McClaren,  James 
McComas,  J.  T.(two) 
McKay,  James 
McKinney,  Wm. 
McHurne,  W.  H. 
Martin,  Jacob 
Mathews,  S.  F. 
Mattoon,  Abel  and  C. 
Maxon,  S.  P. 
Maxwell,  T.  O. 
May,  Harney  B. 
Merchant,     Andrew 

and  William 
Merrill,   (ieorge  and 
Lyman. 


Al'PKNDIX. 


479 


Moyer,  Hotiry 
McMiteith,  Thomiis 
Mttore,  M.  'i". 
Moivlv,  .Joliii 
Parks;  J.  W. 
Poarw,  A. 
Pi'ttvjohii,  TiewiH 
Pittciif,'(;r,  \V.  1). 
Pollv,  Pftcr 
Ponjndi',  L.  H. 
Port'tT,  Joliii  15. 
Powell,  John 

Prettyinaii, 

Pl-ico,  JaiiR's 
l{ain water,  A.  M. 
Richardson,  Mat  hew 
Richie,  George 
Rolierts,  Rev.  Win. 
Roth,  Charles 
Rowell,  J.  M. 
Saltniarsii,  A. 
Selioll,  (i.W.,  Peter, 

!'eterB.&  W.T. 
Sport,  R.  V. 
Shanihrook,  George 
Sliort,  R.  V. 
Smith,  Joseph(two), 

J.  T.,  ^'elson  & 

William. 


Spores,  Jacol),  John 

and  J.  M. 
Stanton,  A. 
Stephens,  Thomas 
Stay,  Solomon 
Taylor,  Christopher 

and  L. 
Thompson,  Fra  A. 
Tomi)kinH,  David  D. 
Torrenee,  C.  M.,  I. 

and  W.  J. 
Townsend,  J.  W. 
Tapper,  O.F.&R.S. 
Vanl)U)l)er,  William 
Vanj^han,  F.  G.,  (i. 

VV.,and  J.  F. 
Walling.  A.  <;.,  A. 

VV.,Jr.,  &J(J.W. 
Warren,  Henry 
Watts,  F.  A. 
Wheelan,  Jason 
Whitcomb,  J.  H. 
Whitney  ,Jas.,Robt. 

and  William 
Wilcox,  Carl  D. 
AVilkins,  M. 
Willis,  G.  W. 
Wills,  R.  C. 
Wilson,  Tlionuus 


Woods,  A.  O. 
Young,  Dan'l&J.L. 
Yocum,  Jesse 

1848. 

Adams,  Br.  W.  L. 
Armitage,  G.  H. 
Atkinson, Rev.  G.H. 
Hall,  Isaac 
Riisket,  (J.  J. 
Rauer,  Andrew 
Real,  John 
Brooke,  Ijloyd 
Branson,  B.  B. 
Bristow,  S  il. 
Burns,  D.  M. 
Callison.J.T.&Robt. 
Catlin,  Cliarles 
Cleaver,  J.  W. 
Clea%'es,  Benj.  and 

James  F. 
Conser,  Jacob 
Cox,  Solomon 
(•rooks.B.W.&J.T. 
Dickens,  John 
Dorris  dleorjre  P. 
Eastham,  Wni.  F. 
Eggman,  F.  J. 
Gibson,  L.  D. 


(Joodell,  W.  N. 
Greenwood,  J.  W. 
Hannu,  S. 

Hendricks,  C.i&T.G. 
Holcomb,  Almou  and 

W.  L. 
Hold,  Henry  C. 
Kelly,  John 
Kellogg,  Joseph 
Latourette,  L.  1).  C. 
Lyman,  Horace 
McAllister,  H. 
Miller,  Chris.  &  J.  D. 
Musgrove,  W.  H. 
Patton,  W.  T. 
I'orter,    Steven    and 

William  C. 
H()l)ertH,  A.  H. 
Russell,  William 
Shedd,  Franci.i 
Shelley,  Jas.  W.  and 

M  ichael 
Starr,  Milton  L. 
Trullinger,  J.  C. 
Vaudevert,  J.  J. 
Watt,  Ahio  S. 


Since  the  preceding  pages  wei'e  printed,  there  has  been  discov- 
ered an  old  assessment  roll,  or  rather  census,  of  the  population  of 
the  Willamette  valley.  Just  when  it  was  made  is  uncertain,  hut  as 
it  gives  the  amount  of  wheat  raised  in  1842  ])y  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  contains  but  two  or  three  names  of  the  immigrants 
of  1842,  it  was  probably  compiled  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  before 
the  immigrants  had  located  in  the  valley.  Most  of  the  names  in  the 
list  are  incorrectly  spelled,  and  instead  of  reproducing  the  list  a 
summary,  giving  the  correct  spelling  of  names  and  other  points  of 
interest,  by  Dr.  William  C.  McKay,  is  given. 

Came  from  California  in  1885  with  Ewing  Young — Wm.  Mc- 
Carty,  Pierre  Stanislaus,  Banjainin  Williams,  Ewing  Young,  Jos. 
Gale,  John  Quannau.  Rocky  Mountain  Tra})pers — Chas.  Campo, 
J.  B.  Pichette,  Francois  Barnier,  Baptiste  DeGean,  Antoine  Bonne- 
faut,  John  LaiTison,  Baptiste  Ducharen,  Gideon  Senecal.  Retired 
Hudson's  Bay  Co.  employes — 38.  F<)lix  Hathaway,  ship  carpenter, 
came  to  in  })rig  in  1832.  Dr.  William  Bailey,  came  from  California 
in  188(3;  George  Gay,  same.  See  page  226.  American  Immigrants 
-  JefF  Brown,  1839 ;  Geo.  W.  LeBreton,  in  ship  Chenomas  with  Capt. 
J.  n.  Couch,  in  1842;  Charles  Roe.  in  1840;  Sidney  Smith,  in  1839; 


# 


480 


APPENDIX. 


Adolph  Chamberlain,  in  1842;  Thomas  Moison,  George  Davis,  in 
1842;  Jno.  Hofstetter,  in  1842.  Jean  Kaptiste  Pairroult,  Canadian 
trapper  of  H.  B.  Co.  Raised  first  fruit  trees  in  Oregon,  at  Davidson's 
Landing.  Came  in  the  Ihnqnm  in  1811 — Louis  LaBronte,  Sr.^ 
Michel!  Latramltoise.  Came  overland  with  Wilson  Price  Hunt's 
party  in  1812 — John  B.  Duboy,  Jo&eph  Gervais,  Etinne  Lucier  and 
son  Joseph  See  page  157.  Francois  Rivet,  came  with  Lewis  and 
Clarke  in  1805  and  settled  among  the  Flatheads.  Thos.  J.  Hub- 
bard, born  in  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  and  came  with  Wyeth  in  1834.  Jno, 
Turner,  a  survivor  of  the  massacre  of  Smith's  party  on  the  U mpqua 
in  1827.  See  page  194,  where  his  name  should  appear  with  those 
of  Smith  and  Prior.  Pierre  J.  Uraphraville,  an  Oregonian,  discov- 
erer of  Colville  mines  in  1 854. 

The  wealth  and  population  of  Oregon  indicated  by  this  list  were 
as  follows:  Livinsr  south  of  the  Columbia  were  250  males  and 
171  females  over  18  years  of  age,  and  397  children,  a  total  of 
818.  Besides  these,  ()0  living  at  the  Cowlitz  farm  are  mentioned, 
but  nothing  is  said  of  the  number  at  Vancouver.  Property  con- 
sisted of  6,770  acres  of  land  inclosed,  33,(>98  bushels  of  wheat, 
18,197  bushels  of  other  grain  and  potatoes,  2,860  horses,  4,101  head 
of  cattle,  139  head  of  sheep  and  1,975  head  of  swine.  The  Hud- 
son's Bay  Co.  is  separately  credited  with  10,000  bushels  of  wheat, 
1,000  pounds  of  butter,  7,000  sheep,  2,000  cows  and  2,000  horses. 
These  statistics  show  that  there  was  much  property  and  population, 
calling  for  the  organization  of  the  provisional  government,  which 
was  effected  in  the  spring  of  1843. 


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